Spindles and Roses
by SunGold16
Summary: A queen on the verge of insanity, a wizard concealing his true identity, a witch hungry for revenge, a stable boy whose past is shrouded in mystery, and a young girl who must prevent the destruction of her kingdom. Sleeping Beauty, retold.
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the fairy tale, "Sleeping Beauty". That belongs to the Brother's Grimm. However, I do own many of the characters depicted in this fan fiction and the majority of the plot.  
  
Please read and review!  
  
Chapter One  
  
The kingdom of Eldron had not always been so unfortunate, nor had the royal family always been cursed. There was a time when life was beautiful and sure, when fear and apprehension were not among the vocabulary of its inhabitants. There was a time before hatred. Before the shadow of evil fell across the land. Covering the misty mountain tops and pebbled seashores. There was a time before Sylvanna.  
  
Eldest of the sovereign house of the fairies Sylvanna was placed upon the fey throne upon the death of her father, King Athanasius. Perhaps it will never be known why a creature of light fell into darkness. Some say the flower she was born from was withered. Some that she was born in the wrong phase of the moon. But most agree that it was the allure of power that corrupted her mind and heart. Power is a terrible, beautiful thing. It can seduce even the most chaste of men into darkness.  
  
Whatever the reason, the spark of wickedness in her heart seemed to flame into and all-consuming blaze. At first it was just small things. The occasional offending firefly was turned to stone, the birds feared to sing in her presence for fear of her early morning temper. But it grew worse. Sylvanna's heart was black with greed and she began to crave more power. Lusting after even the human crown.  
  
It was her brother who spoke out first. It was he who called the high council into secret meeting in a cloven pine during the cloaking darkness of the new moon. It was he who called for her removal at the first rays of dawn and it was he, who drove her from the forests, and from the throne.  
  
Exiled, Sylvanna flew off to a lone island, across a lake of mist. She took up residence there and bided her time. Waiting for the precise moment when she would strike and wreck her revenge over the entire kingdom of Eldron. As each day passed the dark arts poisoned her blood and her power grew. Grew and grew until her body was merely a shell to evil.  
  
As the years passed her fey siblings sensed the coming peril. The brother (strongest of the three siblings), sensing that is was wisest not to leave himself in a familiar place where Sylvanna could find and destroy him disappeared without a word even to his closest friends as to his destination, hoping this would by him the time he needed to plot her destruction. Sylvanna's sister, being left with the throne sought comfort in the arms of a mortal, and from that union a child was conceived. 


	2. Spindles and Roses

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the fairy tale, blah, blah, blah.  
  
Author's Note: Okay, sorry the first chapter was so short. It was really more of a prelude than anything else. I know things aren't very exciting right now but just give it time and PLEASE REVIEW! I promise I'll listen to you and I appreciate suggestions.  
  
~~Chapter Two~~  
  
Far across the ocean, at what seemed like the edge of the Earth, the day dawned bright and clear. Pink, purple, and golden rays shot forth over the glistening sea as Helios broke from his golden gates and rose into the sky. This glorious display was lost however, on the one person who observed it. Queen Marigold's eyes watched everything, but saw nothing. If you were to gaze into the windows of her soul you would see only the eyes of a dead woman. There was no fire, no life behind them. It was as though Marigold had seen horrors unfit for human eyes.  
  
She sat, silent, on a windowsill, tracing scars on a pane of glass that had been mended after she had shattered it with her fist in anger the previous week. The scars on her own hand were still an angry red from the surgeon's needle. Still, she did not feel their sting. Even the cool of the windowpane on her forehead was foreign to her.  
  
It was the most unusual room that she sought solace in. It was a bedchamber, located at the zenith of the highest tower in the Palace of Eldron. There were twelve windows in this room. Spaced around the circular stone walls. On the floor was a giant carpet, depicting the night sky and the phases of the moon. The four poster bed was carved of the darkest mahogany and hung with midnight blue draperies. An ancient, forgotten spinning wheel sat in the shadows, gathering cobwebs. Oddly enough it was carved from the same mahogany as the bed, and each was inlaid minuscule carvings of roses. But the most curious aspect of the room was not the furniture, or the décor, but the ceiling. The tower crown was made entirely of glass, flooding the room with the sun's glory of dawn.  
  
A soft knock was heard on the door. The Queen did not move. Not even a wisp of hair betrayed that she had heard the rapping. When the door was not answered, the young King Frederick quietly entered. He was a tall man, with piercing blue eyes and a glorious mane of tumbled golden hair beneath a lightweight silver crown. His build was strong, and his laugh was thunderous, but today his laughing eyes were solemn as they rested on the face of his Queen.  
  
Marigold was quite the King's opposite. She was petite, with hair the color of ebony and large, exotic brown eyes. Her skin was a light brown, but today she was pale, and the usual foreign coloring of her face was lost.  
  
Frederick crossed the room and placed a hand on her shoulder. Still she did not move.  
  
"My dear, you must stop this. You haven't eaten in days. Nor have you slept." "Why should I?" Marigold's voice seemed to come from across the ocean outside of the window. Far from this world. Her eyes still focused on the horizon.  
  
"Everyone is worried. The servants in the kitchens speak of nothing else but your condition," Frederick sighed, "And I need you. You must be strong now."  
  
Nothing but silence was heard. The King turned Marigold's face towards himself and forced her to look him in the eyes.  
  
"Mari, people are beginning to talk. They are saying that you have gone insane! I know you're upset but darling you've got to go on!"  
  
For the first time the Queen moved. She violently pushed his hands away from her face and stood up. "Well maybe they're right! Maybe I have lost my wits! Frederick, this is the third child I've lost before it even left the womb! How do you expect me to feel? I've tried every potion concocted by every doctor in the land, and nothing works! I cannot bear a child!"  
  
The King reached for her hand but she jerked away and focused her attention on the spinning wheel, tracing the engraved roses with her long, delicate fingers. "All I want is a child. I would give my life for just five minutes with my own baby." Tears began to well up in her eyes and she gave a shuddering sob. As she did her hand fell away from the spindle and received a small puncture from the needle. Marigold let out a small whimper and sank to the floor in tears.  
  
At that moment, another man entered the chamber. He was tall, even surpassing the King in height. His hair and beard were silver, cascading over his long blue robes. A staff in his hands was crowned with a small crystal sphere at its pinnacle. Premature wrinkles lined his eyes, as though he had seen a thousand ages of man pass by. He made no noise with his feet as he crossed the room and knelt next to the Queen.  
  
"Madam, fear not, this will pass. You must keep up your strength if you would bear a child again. You must eat something!"  
  
"Fear not?! Even you're powers are to weak to help me Maximus! I am beyond reach. Death is less fearsome than facing another day alone!"  
  
The enchanter sighed, "I assure you that we will find away to cure this problem, whatever it may be, you must just give it time! Do not exile yourself from life!"  
  
The Queen's eyes opened and her sobs suddenly ceased, "Exile."  
  
"Precisely, Maximus is right, you must."  
  
"No! Exile! That's it!"  
  
"I'm sorry madam, what do you mean?" "Sylvanna."  
  
"What?"  
  
"The Witch Fairy."  
  
Maximus rose abruptly. "Absolutly not1 She's a demon!"  
  
Marigold rose as well. "But if anyone is powerful enough to give me a child it's her!"  
  
"Are you insane?!" King Frederick cried, a little louder than he meant to.  
  
The Queen's eyes flashed. In a cold deadly voice she said, "Don't you ever call me crazy Frederick. Ever." She paused and turned towards the door, "I'm going to see her."  
  
Maximus desperatly caught her wrist, "Mari, she'll kill you! You know she has had her sights set on destroying the monarchy for years, you'll be walking right into her hands!"  
  
Queen Marigold wrenched her wrist out of his grasp, "So? What have I to live for?" With that she marched out the door and down the spiral staircase, footsteps echoing behind her. 


	3. Into The Mists

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the fairy tale, just the majority of the plot and characters.  
  
Author's Note: Thank you to all of you who reviewed! I'm thrilled! Just one comment to Brink1, you asked a very good question, perhaps my writing did not make it clear but I do not wish to reveal the names of the siblings just yet. You will know in good time. But thanks! PLEASE KEEP REVIEWING!!!  
  
~~Chapter Three~~  
  
Nothing could be done to dissuade the Queen. Marigold was a stubborn woman, and once she set her mind to do something.nothing could hold her back. But what she lacked in patience she made up for in courage.  
  
A crew of five soldiers was assembled to guard the Queen on her trek. They journeyed for no more than three days by carriage to the Lake of Mist, where a rowboat was unloaded and launched softly into the lake. They boarded and began to row.  
  
No one spoke. The only sound to be heard was the gentle lapping of the oars into the murky depths. Every so often some unknown creature swimming below the water would bump its spine up against the bottom of the boat and slither away. Nothing could be seen. The soldiers fidgeted nervously in the fog, clutching their oars as if they were life it's self. Queen Marigold however, stared out into the haze with the dignified poise of one who fears life more than death.  
  
Upon reaching the Island of Darkness Marigold stepped out of the boat onto the cold, dank sand. Her eyes looked forward to a wild, thick, grove of trees. It was a like a jungle. Vines draped the massive trees and strange plants emitted peculiar odors. Her gaze followed the trees up toe the crest and she beheld a high tower looming over them, far into the forest.  
  
When the rowboat was secured, the Queen's crew began to hack their way through the dense vegetation. It was tiring work as the greenery was dense, but after a few minutes of work, they fell onto a path. It looked not to have been used in many years but somehow it called to them as if it were a link to civilization on this desolate hell of savage foliage.  
  
Marigold, raced ahead briskly, crazed to reach that tower. She and her men continued along the trail for another twenty minutes. Every so often a bird of prey would shriek somewhere off in the distance, and sometimes, not so far away, a beast would growl as if warning them to leave while they still had breath in their bodies. The mist and fauna seemed to grow more and more dense until they though it might swallow them entirely, when they toppled out of the forest and into a clearing. There in front of them was a pair of twisted iron gates surrounding a dark, towering castle. The tops curved into two heinous eyes that scrutinized them as they approached.  
  
The windows were barred with iron rods, and gave the impression that the chateau was watching you with hundreds of sinister eyes. It was beset with carvings that seemed to be engraved in a wicked tongue, and gargoyles that, when they turned their backs, they could almost hear whispered, treacherous, conversations. But when the men faced them again, they were only cold, silent, stone.  
  
The castle grounds were wide open, except for a long passage to the doors that was lined with twelve-foot high maze hedges. Cautiously, Marigold and her men approached the gates, intending to enter, but as Marigold reached out her hand to open the gate.it swung open of it's own accord with an ominous creaking. They gasped and shrank back. Marigold took a deep breath and entered them. She took a few steps and turned to make sure her men were following her.they weren't.  
  
"Come on, we're almost there!"  
  
One man shook his head, "No ma'am! Thees place ees cursed. Ah can feel it. We've got to go back. Notin's worth thees."  
  
"Well of all the cowardly, oh! Nevermind! I'll go by myself if need be!" At that moment, as though listening to their conversation, the gates slammed shut with a crash! Then men screamed and ducked behind some bushes and Marigold jumped back, her eyes widened with terror. She clutched the folds of material in her skirt and breathing hard turned and slowly continued towards the castle.  
  
As she walked her eyes shifted nervously about her as sounds of animals rustling nearby arose. She approached the palace doors, and they obligingly opened for her, beckoning for her to enter. She could not see anything in their depths as it was pitch black, but she was desperate to see Sylvanna so without thinking she passed through the entrance and into the blackness.  
  
The moment she was inside the doors slammed shut behind her and she cried out in alarm and flung herself upon the handles to wrench them open. But the doors wouldn't budge. Marigold began to hyperventilate and rotated slowly back around to face the expansive room s she leaned her back against the sturdy wood. After a minute her breathing slowed and she took in her surroundings.  
  
The hall was immensely dark, but in random places moonlight streamed in from the few windows and left a scattered pattern on the room. It illuminated a half a table here, a doorframe there, and sometimes it just fell along the floor. After a moment, on a table to her right, a candle flickered to life. Marigold hesitantly lifted it up and another candelabrum lit it's self across the room. Guided by the light in her hand the Queen walked hesitantly towards it. When she reached the light a third lit, then a fourth, then a fifth. She followed the candles like a trail of bread crumbs until at last she reached a large door, two floors above. The last candle was sitting alone on a table. Marigold went to it and waited, but no other flames lit. Instead, a few feet away from her a door opened, and a voice from inside said, "Come in."  
  
Hesitantly, Marigold entered the room and the door again shut behind her. Her candle flame blew out. The room was almost totally dark, but from the far wall, a pair of glowing red eyes opened and watcher her like a spider watches it's prey.  
  
"What brings you here my dear?" the voice asked, although it didn't really seem to be a question. The voice already seemed to know the answer, and when it said "dear" it was more of a wicked hiss than a term of endearment.  
  
"I.I am Queen Marigold of."  
  
"Yes, I know."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I have my ways. Go on."  
  
"I would like .like to ask a favor of you, or make some sort of deal."  
  
"Yes?" A slight tapping sound was heard, like fingernails drumming on a table in impatience.  
  
"I am without children. I want a baby. I will give you anything if you can grant me a child."  
  
For a few moments there was silence. The Queen clutched her robes in fear. She began to wonder if this creature might not simple kill her. It was only the nerve of the desperate that kept her from running screaming from the room.  
  
Then, the hissing voice sliced through the silence again, "Very well. In a few months you shall give birth to a baby girl. She shall be beautiful, intelligent, and I think I shall even bequeath upon her some of the astounding courage you yourself have displayed today. In return, you will name me godmother to this princess and will invite me to bestow a gift upon her at her christening. Do you understand?" the red eyes narrowed.  
  
"Yes, oh yes, perfectly! Thank you!" Queen Marigold replied.  
  
"But remember! Do not forget. Now leave this place with haste. It would be a shame if I had to slay you now that you finally carry your child."  
  
The queen ran out of the room and back into the moonlight splattered palace. How she reached the front doors again she never knew, but they opened for her and she hurried across the lawns and through the obliging gates to her men. Weeping with happiness she told them the good news and they make excellent time back to the castle of Eldron.  
  
When Marigold told Kind Frederick and Lord Maximus the King was overjoyed. He proclaimed a national holiday and gleefully began to prepare for the royal christening. Maximus, however remained silent and tried to calm the nagging sensation that somehow the situation had worsened. Still, the happy couple continued making plans. They were so overjoyed in fact, that as it came time for the invitations to be sent, one name was forgotten, only one, but this one was to prove fatal. 


	4. The Woman In The Flames

DISCLAIMER: Once again, I don't own the fairy tale, you know the rest.  
  
Author's Note: Thank you to all of you who reviewed. Remember guys, it only takes a second! And thank you for the suggestion. I think those of you who worried about the romance will be pleasantly surprised. I'll try to update steadily.  
  
~~Chapter Four~~  
  
The morning of the christening dawned bright and clear. Queen Marigold hummed happily to herself as she fussed about the royal bassinet. The Queen had refused to allow the baby to be placed in a separate nursery, and had insisted that it be kept in her room. King Frederick drew the line at putting the baby in bed with them, and therefore had to endure his wife's nocturnal habit of getting out of bed twelve times a night to check on the child.  
  
There was nothing but joy about the palace this morning. The Princess had been born three days prior and now that the kingdom of Eldron finally had an heir, and the Queen was removed from her state of depression, all tension was finally lifted from the castle.  
  
King Frederick sternly eyed his wife, and Queen Marigold reluctantly returned her baby to its crib. The ceremony was about to begin.  
  
A short, rotund, young gentleman, with a wart at the tip of his nose came forward and bowed first to the Royal Family, and then to the crowds. "Your majesties, lords, and ladies, we are ready to begin." There was a brief pause as a scroll was slipped to the King and Queen. They began to read, "We, King Frederick Adalbert Conrad and Queen Marigold Christaine Hermia, royal sovereigns of the Kingdom of Eldron, Imperial Majesties of the Sigwin Islands and proud parents of our firstborn child do present to you, our people, your Princess---Briar Rose!"  
  
There was a roar of applause and the King exhaled sharply and raised his eyebrows towards his wife, "Goodness, I hope we never have to say all that at once again." The Queen nodded in agreement, but something else was bothering her. She had a nagging feeling that she had forgotten something. Something important.  
  
Once again, the pudgy man stepped forward. Marigold couldn't help but stare at his wart as it wiggled when he spoke. Up, down, side to side, the little white hairs on top quivered and it seemed to-"Mari!"  
  
Startled, she replied, "What?"  
  
Frederick whispered into her ear, "You're supposed to announce Rose's Godparent!"  
  
Marigold briefly glanced around. The hall was silent. Everyone was staring at her. The thought faintly registered in her head that she had invited three hundred and twenty seven guests to the ceremony and that that meant there were six hundred fifty four eyes staring at her, waiting for her to speak. Marigold lifted another scroll from the hands of the page and read, "We, the crown of Eldron, have appointed our Chief Royal Wizard, Lord Maximus Dominicus as Godfather to our baby, Princess Briar Rose. We ask that Maximus come forward and present a gift to our child."  
  
No sooner had Maximus stepped forward towards the cradle when there was a crash of thunder that shook the stone walls of the Great Hall and a squall of wind ripped several tapestries from the ceilings and knocked many guards off their feet. The Queen was thrown back against a wall and as King Frederick rushed to help her a bolt of lightening struck the center of the room. Lords and ladies shrieked as their hands and robes were scorched by the flames.  
  
The lightening reduced it's self to silent red flames and as the outline of a woman appeared in them they died out completely. The woman within the flames was dressed from head to foot in black robes. Bone colored wraps covering her arms on the insides of her sleeves gave her the appearance of being mummified. Her skin was paper white and her lips, set in a thin line were crimson red, almost as though she had drank blood and it was still fresh upon her mouth. Her raven black hair was pulled tightly up to the iron crown upon her head that gave her the appearance of having horns. Her eyes shone scarlet and seemed to bore right through the King and Queen. In her right hand she held a tall, twisted, iron staff. "My, my, if this isn't more pomp and finery than I have seen in three hundred years."  
  
Marigold picked herself up off the floor. There was a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. The King was looking rather bewildered and gave his wife a questioning look. Maximus crossed between the woman and the baby princess. "What do you want Sylvanna?"  
  
The witch fairy chuckled slightly and a cruel smile spread it's self over her face. "Why I merely came to grant the child the gift I promised her mother nine months ago. Strange that I was forgotten so quickly."  
  
The King gasped and turned to his wife, "You didn't tell me."  
  
The Queen picked her baby from the bassinet and faced Sylvanna. "Thank you, but you've done enough. You've given us so much already." Her body shivered with fear but her eyes were serene.  
  
"Now who said I was here to give?" Sylvanna whispered. She attempted to approach the Queen but Maximus cut in front of her.  
  
"You shall not harm this child." His eyes turned and icy blue and Sylvanna retreated a few steps.  
  
"Don't worry Maximus, I won't touch her." There was silence and the witch fairy proceeded with a wicked grin spreading over her face, "In fact, I give you my word that I will not so much as lay a finger on the child."  
  
Maximus eyed her with suspicion, "Then you may leave," he remarked coldly. Something seemed to pass between the two. No one could ever quite put their finger on what it was, but it was as if the most powerful beings in all the land were fighting an inner war inside their minds. Then Sylvanna spoke.  
  
"Your little princess will die."  
  
"You can't do that!" Maximus bellowed, "It goes against the laws of magic! You cannot murder someone with a single spell!"  
  
"You're correct. I'm not going to kill her now. Instead, she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel before midnight on her eighteenth birthday. That, o' demoted one, will be her downfall," there was a brief pause as Sylvanna smirked and allowed this to sink in. "And you know what the worst part is? You don't know when it's going to happen! It could be in six months, it could be in ten years, it could even happen tonight while you are asleep in your beds, just inches from her."  
  
Maximus advanced towards her and raised his staff screaming, "Sylvanna you witch!" Then there was another crash of lightening and Sylvanna vanished from the Great Hall.  
  
For a moment all that was to be heard was the frightened whimpering of those who had been scorched and the scuttle of healers about the room bandaging burns. Then Maximus sighed and turned towards the King and Queen. He gently took the Princess from her mother's arms and caressing her tiny pink hands murmured, "I cannot lift this curse for you my child. I am not strong enough to do it. Perhaps I am not meant to. For nothing happens in this world without Fate's hand in the doings. But I can give you just a little bit of help. You shall not die from this spindle. You shall only sleep until true love's kiss awakens you. For love is the only weapon we have that Sylvanna does not possess."  
  
Maximus handed the child back to her mother and the King cried in a booming voice, "Let every spinning wheel in this kingdom be burned!"  
  
"Your majesty, be reasonable, a conflagration will do nothing!"  
  
"Don't tell me to be reasonable Maximus, my only child is not going to end up a victim of this curse!"  
  
"Ashes to ashes sire. She came from Sylvanna."  
  
"I will not sit here and watch my child die!" King Frederick's voice echoed through the castle and he flew from the hall declaring, "Every spinning wheel in this kingdom shall be burnt by sunset!"  
  
Pages flew from house to house collecting the wooden tools of death and before the dying rays of the sun were extinguished they had been burned to the ground. It is strange of the human nature, that when we fear danger, we overlook the one place where the peril is strongest, within our own walls. 


	5. A Curious Arrival

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the fairy tale, but should since mine is so much better than the Brother's Grimm-did I say that out loud?  
  
Author's Note: Come on people. There are only three reviews so far. Now I KNOW that more people than that have read my fanfic. It only takes you about two seconds. Review!!!!  
  
~~Chapter Five~~  
  
Seven years crawled by. With each of my passing birthdays my parents breathed a sigh of relief. I was another year closer to eighteen and safety from a poisoned sleep. In the interest of my "safety" my parents agreed that it was best I should not know of this curse. In retrospect this makes no sense to me as it would seem safer for me to know about it and therefore avoid suspicious situations, but I digress.  
  
Since it was forbidden in out kingdom to use spinning wheels we had to import all of our cloth from our neighboring sovereignty, Linderly. I had never even seen a spinning wheel. However, importation of the cloth cost our government much more money than we would be spending to spin the cloth ourselves. Some of the councilors in my parents' cabinet began to worry about the strain it would place on the economy. Something had to be done.  
  
For weeks advisors tried to come up with a plan to solve this quandary, but nothing could be decided upon. Finally, some obscure filing clerk for one of the lower members casually remarked that the King of Linderly, King Marius, had a son. A young prince by the name of Godfrey who would one day become king. He was only a year older than I and it was decided that it would be best if we were to marry and join our non-spinning nation with one who was famous for their spinning.  
  
A proposal was sent to King Marius suggesting that the Prince and I meet, and that if we got along without killing each other that we wed on my eighteenth birthday. This was received with warm welcome and a date was set. We would meet on my tenth birthday. Most likely, I would not have given my parents any trouble about any of this had it not been for one event that occurred when I was seven.  
  
Princes are usually thought to be brave, chivalrous, honorable, kind, generous and loving. That is what the word "prince" embodies. And we expect anyone born with that title to possess those qualities. But to be a prince and to be princely are two very different things. You can be a prince and have a cold, common heart; you can also be a commoner with a warm, princely heart. This is something I was ignorant of for the first few years of my life. But I would soon discover the difference between being a prince and being princely.  
  
One afternoon, I was up in Maximus' tower begging him to train me to work magic, with little success, when a servant threw open the door with a bang causing Maximus to thrust his staff in the direction of the door and me to spill a vial of bright lime-colored fluid.  
  
The servant gave a quick bow, "Milord, you must come quickly. Something has happened."  
  
Maximus quickly mopped up the potion and lifted me off of my stool, "Rose, go to your room."  
  
"But Maximus, I want to-" I cried as he shooed me out the door.  
  
"Rose please!" He hurried down the stairs. I, curious creature that I was, followed him. "Maximus, what's happening? What's wrong?" I ran under his feet, making him fall a few times before we exited the stairs.  
  
"Nothing Rose," he lifted me off the floor and handed me to the servant, "Here, take her to the stables. She likes the horses."  
  
"I don't want to play with the horses, I want to know what's going on!" I cried indignantly. Obviously something important had happened if Maximus was so upset. But he was off through a door into our drawing room before the protest left my lips.  
  
"Come on miss," the young man carrying me said and gestured to a door leading outside as he sat me down.  
  
But I wasn't ready to give up. "Alright!" I agreed with a sudden change in enthusiasm, "Let's play hide-and-seek. I'll hide and you seek." If the attendant suspected that I was up to mischief he did not let on, but walked with me outside and leaned against a tree with his eyes closed and began to count, "One, two, three-"  
  
I smiled to myself, slightly amused at the lack of intelligence the young man displayed and scurried back inside to the door Maximus had entered. I sank to my knees and put my ear to the door to hear the conversation inside.  
  
An unfamiliar voice said, "-dead. Absolutely no relation to your sister. Just a freak accident."  
  
"Have you told him about--?" That was Maximus.  
  
A third voice, this one foreign sounding cut in, "No, vee vought voo might not vish to tell heem."  
  
"No, I do not wish for him to know just yet. When he is ready," there was a pause, "No one needs to know. It is safer that way. I will see to it that the King and Queen take him in as a stable boy and as a part-time apprentice to me. Very well, show the boy in. Good day gentlemen."  
  
I heard the scraping of furniture and rapping of feet as the men rose from their seats, shook hands, and made for the door. I quickly got to my feet to run away before they saw me, but as I turned to flee I tripped on my dress and fell! At that moment Maximus and the two men exited the room and the servant burst in from outside. I was caught!  
  
The two gentlemen glanced at each other and tried to suppress the chuckling that threatened to erupt from them if they so much as opened their mouths. When the attendant saw me he simply threw his hands up in the air and stormed back outside in exasperation. Maximus tilted his eyeglasses on the bridge of his nose and looked down at me from over the lenses. He sighed, "I should have known. Oh well, I suppose you heard the entire conversation didn't you?"  
  
I sighed as well and tossed my hair a bit, "Only part." I got to my feet and rubbed my knee. There would be a sickly olive colored bruise there within an hour.  
  
Maximus shook his head and took my hand, "Very well then, come along, let's meet Jason."  
  
He was waiting for us in a small reception room on the first floor. It was early afternoon and the sunlight streamed in through the open oval windows and cast golden patterns on the purple carpet. A gentle breeze cooled us in the heat of the June sun. And there on an ivory chair, upholstered in purple satin, sat a young boy.  
  
He was sitting self consciously in the great throne of an arm chair, feet raised so as not to tough the carpet and dirty it, which must have been uncomfortable as he was easily tall enough to rest both feel flat upon the floor. His dirty clothes shouted, "Peasant!" to all that beheld him, but he still maintained a game air about himself. When he saw us enter he jumped up and gave a rather clumsy bow to us.  
  
"Please have a seat," Maximus said softly. The men and Jason took their seats and I alighted a small sofa, all the while staring curiously at this strange boy. He did likewise.  
  
Maximus spoke, "Jason, I know that losing your father has been difficult for you and I am going to do everything in my power to make it easier for you. I was-a good friend of your parents all my life and-"  
  
"I don't understand," the boy cut in, "Why can't I go to my mother? Don't YOU know where she is?"  
  
There was a pregnant pause, "No, I do not. But you will be staying here at the palace so it is not relevant. You have been accepted as a stable boy and I will train you in the ways of sorcery-"  
  
"But Maximus, you won't even let ME learn magic! Why does HE get to?" I cried incensed. But a stern look from Maximus was all it took for me to silence myself.  
  
"Vell, Zees ess good!" the messanger sang cheerfully, "Vere vould voo like hees belongings?  
  
Everyone stood up. "There is a spare room on the second floor down the Eastern corridor. If you will put his things in there then you may be on your way Maximus said softly, looking not at the messengers, but at Jason whom he stood up to place a hand on his shoulder. "Everything's going to be fine, I promise."  
  
"Thank you," Jason whispered, took a deep breath, stood, and resolutely followed us out of the room. We went downstairs to retrieve his luggage and two servants carried it with us to his room.  
  
It was a charming little chamber, done in shades of brown and forest green with an attractive picture window. A wooden bed stood beside one wall with a nightstand and an armoire with a mirror on the other. It was humble, but comfortable. However, it had not been used in quite a while and was rather dusty. I discovered this piece of trivia upon a sudden clamorous sneeze.  
  
The attendants deposited Jason's luggage on the floor and exited along with Maximus and the two messengers. Curious, I remained where I was. Left alone we just stood and stared at each other for a minute, studying each other. Then I said, "Hello."  
  
"Hi," he replied.  
  
"I'm Briar Rose."  
  
"Yes, I know. Everyone knows who you are. Eldron's one and only heir. I'm Jason Kelmond." He stuck out a hand for me to shake. Slightly shocked, but pleasantly surprised at this informal gesture I complied with the greeting.  
  
"I don't mean to be rude, but, why exactly are you here?" I asked awkwardly.  
  
"My father died. He was crushed in a mine collapse. No one knows where my mother is. I've never even met her. Maximus was a good friend of my parents though. So-here I am."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry."  
  
"It's alright. It could be worse."  
  
It felt awkward just standing there so I asked if there was anything I could do to help him unpack. He seemed a little surprised and invited me to help him unpack his clothes and other objects in his chest. As I hung shirts and folded breeches I examined him out of the corner of my eye.  
  
There was something unusual about him. I couldn't quite place it. It was almost as if he wasn't completely human. He seemed rather too tall for his age, which he revealed to be the same as mine, seven. He moved so lightly and swiftly over the stone floor and his brunette hair possessed an unusual luster. But it was his eyes that shook me. They seemed to-sparkle. He was by no means frightening, he just seemed too beautiful to be real.  
  
Under a layer of stockings I came upon a silver necklace with a peculiar stone set in the rose-shaped pendant. "Jason, what's this?" I asked, unable to take my eyes from the glowing stone.  
  
"It was my mother's. It's all I have of hers."  
  
I tucked the beautiful chain into a stocking to protect it and placed it into the drawer. To change the subject I said, "If you'd like, I can show you to the stables after dinner. They're my favorite place to play."  
  
"Thank you, I'd like that." His eyes met mine, and from that moment on, we were the best of friends. 


	6. The Frog Prince

DISCLAIMER: If you don't know already, read previous chapters.  
  
Author's Note: Thank you to the ONE person who has reviewed since ch. 2. I appreciate the rebuke. I really should have stretched my imagination for that scene. I hope I'm not stalked by Disney representatives now. *eyes shift nervously* Chapter Four (The Woman In The Flames) has been replaced with a similar chapter but it is still a good idea to go back and re-read it because, well, you just need to. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!  
  
~~Chapter Six~~  
  
There were hardly any other children in the castle besides Jason and I, and certainly none of them were in our age group, therefore we were often obliged to play with each other simply out of necessity. However, this was not a hardship as we quite enjoyed each other's company.  
  
The other stable hands and horse masters of our stables had recognized Jason's strength early on. That, and his whispered ability to converse with the animals. It seemed all he had to do to get a horse to comply with his bidding was to whisper gently in its ear. I once asked him about this strange rumor.  
  
Jason poured oats into the trough nailed to the interior wall of my horse's stall. Delilah was my pride and joy. She was a gorgeous palomino with a shimmery blonde mane and tale. The cloud of feed particles and dust that arose from the bucket flooded my throat and nostrils and I began to cough.  
  
Jason shook his head and patted me on the back, "You've got to be careful of that stuff."  
  
When I finished hacking up a lung I repeated my question, "Thank you. But is it true? Can you talk to the horses?"  
  
He sighed, "I wouldn't say that. I just politely ask them to do something and I understand what they want me to do. Anyone could do it if they would just take the time to get to know the horses and learn how they communicate. It's nothing supernatural."  
  
I nodded that I understood and hopped up onto the stall railings. I began to swing my legs and examine a hole in one of my stockings. Mother wouldn't like that. Perhaps I could find a way to hide it. The sound of Jason's clanging buckets echoed throughout the hallway. I loved this place. The livery was always warm and sweet smelling from the hay and horses. You could relax here and speak of things, as you never could in the perfumed halls of the palace. Delilah came up behind me and I scratched her behind the ears.  
  
"You've been rather quiet today Rose. Something wrong?" Jason asked as he locked the tack room. He crossed over and hopped up upon the railings with me. "I've never known you to stay silent this long."  
  
I flipped my wavy blonde hair over my shoulders and out of my eyes. I hadn't been allowed to plait it this morning on account of my Mother. She said that it would frizz too much when let down. "Mother invited the King of Linderly and his son, Prince Godfrey to come visit today."  
  
"What's so bad about that? You probably won't even have to see them. They'll be with your parents the whole time."  
  
"No, the entire point of their coming is to see me. I don't know why they want to see ME," I muttered into my hair, which had once again fallen into my face.  
  
Jason was silent for a moment and then asked, "Is that really something to be upset about? I mean, it's good that your parents want you to meet foreign dignitaries isn't it?"  
  
"I don't know. I suppose. But something about it unsettles me. I can't place it but something seems-" Suddenly, from across the pasture I heard a voice calling for me.  
  
"Briar Rose! Where are you? Come here this instant! Rose!"  
  
In surrender, I slid down from the railing and began to walk to the door, "I've got to go change Jason. Mother want's me to dress up for Godfrey's arrival."  
  
"In that case, meet me in the hay loft when you finish. I've got something to cheer you up!" he called after me and began to gather his affects together.  
  
I made my way back to the palace, and the handmaiden who was calling for me, my footsteps dragging in the dewy grass. Upon entering my room, Mother let out an exasperated sigh, "I thought I told you not to run your stockings." I had forgotten to hide the hole. I began to explain when she cut me off and began to pull my course, reddish-brown dress off, over my head.  
  
"You've got to be more careful with your appearance my dear. If Prince Godfrey and his father were to see you now they would take you for nothing but a scullery maid."  
  
"I don't care how they see me," I muttered as I removed my petticoats and put on fresh, starched ones.  
  
"Of course you do. You want to look beautiful for thier Royal Highnesses the first time he see you don't you?" She pawed through my wardrobe looking for a suitable gown.  
  
"Not particularly," I mumbled, but Mother was oblivious, lost in my sideboard. At last she withdrew a frock.  
  
"Absolutely not. There is no way I am wearing that." The dress was pink with a large satin bow tied in the back, ruffles on the sleeves and skirt hem, pearls sewn into the bodice and a matching pink satin bow for my hair. I flattened myself against the wall in resistance.  
  
Mother had other ideas. When I finally emerged from my bedchamber I was nothing more than a pink nightmare. Ridicules for a ten-year-old. Humiliated, I raced to the barn where I could hide from everyone and Jason could help me think of some way to get out of this predicament.  
  
As I poked my head over the loft floor and attempted to pull myself up I heard an explosion of laughter. Jason was rolling on the floor, holding his sides, peals of laughter emitting from his mouth. "You-look-" there was a brief pause as he caught his breath, "-so-ridicules!" He was shaking so hard now that no sound escaped his throat. He simple shook, mouth open in silent laughter, until he could gasp a breath.  
  
I slumped down in the alfalfa, blowing my bangs out of my face and crossing my arms over my chest, waiting for him to finish. Jason eventually calmed down and only let an occasional chuckle escape when he laid eyes on the bow in my hair.  
  
"Didn't you have something you wanted to show me?" I asked, slightly irritated.  
  
He took a deep breath, "Yes, follow me." Jason began to climb down the ladder and I followed him outside.  
  
"Remember the other day when I found that frog by the river banks?" he asked, finally in a normal voice.  
  
"Yes, just the one. Why?"  
  
He grinned mischievously, "I found more. A whole colony. They're by the lake." As he said this we pushed our way through a brush of cattails and emerged on the lake shore. Hundreds of frogs were leaping about in a muddy area near the banks.  
  
"Brilliant!" I cried and turned to him, "Can we catch them?"  
  
"As many as you like." And with that we went to work. For nearly an hour we cavorted about diving after frogs and trying to examine their beady little eyes. But every time we got a hold of one them they squeezed out of our hands and hopped away. I grew tired of this and suggested a game of hide- and-seek. The June heat was oppressive, and we turned to the trees for shade.  
  
Jason ran off to hide and I hid my face against a tree to count to twenty. When finished I began creeping cautiously through the woods. There he was! I was amazed to have spotted him so quickly as Jason could hide better than any person I had ever played with, including adults. Quick as lightening he sprinted away and I began to chase him. It still amazed me how lightly he ran. That and being tall for his age gave him an unfair advantage over me in this case, but I pursued on. At last I got close enough to Jason to tackle him. I sprung forward and landed on his back, throwing the both of us forward down a small hill into a clearing.  
  
Laughing, I rolled over and slapped him on the shoulder, "Got you!" Then I realized that the only laughing voice was mine. Jason was dead quiet, his face whiter than snow on a January day. His eyes were fixed on something a few feet behind me. I stood and turned to see what it could be.  
  
It was my Mother. My Mother, my Father, the King of Linderly, and a weasel- looking boy in robes of royal purple that could only be Prince Godfrey. And they were all staring at me. It was only then that I realized that I was covered in mud and leaves, that my dress was torn, the bow missing from my wet stringy hair, and that I had scratches all over my arms, legs and face which were now deep scarlet colored in dried blood.  
  
In a deadly cold voice my Mother spoke, "Briar Rose, allow me to introduce you to His Majesty, King Marius and his son, Prince Godfrey of Linderly. Gentlemen, my daughter," she dropped the word daughter from her lips like it was a rotten grub, "Princess Briar Rose." I stood and curtseyed with what was left of my dress to their, "How do you do?"s.  
  
"Briar Rose, go upstairs and change immediately. Then meet us in the drawing room for tea."  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
"And Jason, Maximus was expecting you for tutoring a half an hour ago. I suggest you clean off and beg his pardon."  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
And with that we trudged off. 


	7. The First Deadly Sin

DISCLAIMER: The original fairy tale, "Sleeping Beauty" belongs to the Brother's Grimm, not me. However, the majority of the plot and characters in this fan fiction are mine.  
  
Author's Note: After some plot negotiating and a couple of hours at the drawing board I have finally outlined my chapters and got a clear picture of where I'm headed. Which is a good thing since I will be able to continue to update frequently. Unless something occurs which I did not anticipate this fanfic should end up being fifteen chapters long. Yea! Let's just hope I don't botch this thing.  
  
~~Chapter Seven~~  
  
It is amazing how no matter how wretched your life is-it can always get worse. I thought nothing could top my humiliation from my mud-covered overture with our guests but I was sorely mistaken.  
  
Upon my return from changing my gown and washing my face and hands I found my parents and our guests making forced conversation in the drawing room. As I cautiously entered the room Mother opened her mouth to say something and then shut it again as if all the chastisements rushing to her lips had smothered her into silence. She simply rose from her divan and with her mouth set in a thin line said icily, "Briar Rose, why don't you and his highness go play outside?" with a look that said plainly that this was not a request. She leaned down and whispered in my ear, "I'll deal with you later," as Godfrey and I left the room.  
  
**~~**  
  
"Strange, when I first saw you, I thought you were just some urchin or kitchen maid's brat. You don't look at all like a princess. You're not at all pretty," Prince Godfrey smirked as soon as we were out of earshot.  
  
All thoughts I had previously entertained about good behavior and making civil conversation flew out the window. "What do you mean I don't LOOK like a princess?" I retorted, "Are you an expert on the subject?"  
  
He rolled his eyes and we ceased walking. Godfrey turned to me and began to gesture towards my hair, face, hands, and attire, "Look at you. Your hair is dirty and stringy."  
  
"I didn't have time to wash it."  
  
"Your dress is so common. I've seen more finery on our cooks."  
  
I glanced down at my coarse, brown frock. "My other dress was torn."  
  
"You've got freckles."  
  
Strange, I had never thought about that before. "Do I?"  
  
"Of course, they're all over your nose. And your skin is as brown as those Eastern Barbarians across the sea, or-isn't that where you mother is from?"  
  
At that I threw a punch at his weasel-face that I intended to break his nose, but missed and cleft his right eye instead. Godfrey screamed and fell to the ground in pain. "First of all, don't you ever call my mother a 'barbarian' again you imbecile! And secondly, my skin is brown because I actually play out doors!" Glancing at his moon pale skin I also remarked, "I could out ride, out hunt, out box you any day!"  
  
At these words I heard footsteps approaching from behind and fearing that my Mother had seen me strike Godfrey I turned guilty around. It was Jason.  
  
"What happened? Maximus said that I had better skip lessons today and come find you. What have you done Rose?" Then he saw Godfrey writhing on the grass. He raised his eyebrows and glanced at me out of the corners of his eyes.  
  
"He insulted my mother."  
  
Godfrey sat up still holding his eye, "Who is THIS guttersnipe?" he muttered.  
  
I kicked him in the shins.  
  
Jason, who had more patience than me, sighed and said, "My name is Jason Kelmond. I am apprentice to the Royal Wizard, Lord Maximus of Elrond," there was a brief pause, "I take it you are Prince Godfrey."  
  
Something about this interested Godfrey, "Oh that's right-you're that stable boy!"  
  
Jason held me back before I could pummel the Prince again. "Yes, I am. But it's certainly better than being a prince who just got beaten up by a girl." That shut Godfrey up. Jason continued with a sideways glance at me, "And if I were you Godfrey, I wouldn't mention this incident to anyone. I think you would find your humiliation far worse than watching Rose receive her punishment."  
  
Godfrey staggered back into an upright position and said, "Maybe you can throw a decent punch, but I'll bet I could best you with a sword."  
  
I stepped forward, "Is that a challenge?"  
  
"No Rose, it's a marriage proposal. Of course it's a challenge."  
  
"Fine. Jason, would you mind bringing us a couple of training rapiers please?" I said quietly, not taking my eyes off Godfrey.  
  
"Um, Rose, could I talk to you for a second?" He pulled me aside and whispered so that Godfrey could not overhear us, "Rose, you don't know how to fence!"  
  
"He doesn't know that."  
  
"He's going to find out the minute you pick up the sword."  
  
"I don't care. I'm not going to back down. Just get the rapiers."  
  
~~****~~  
  
I unsheathed my weapon and tossed the covering to Jason. Godfrey did the same. We bowed to each other and took our stances. So far I was simply copying what I had seen father's knights do in tournaments. I hoped I'd be able to best him, but from the way he held his rod and his confidence, I realized that I should have taken Jason's advice and refused the duel. But it was too late now.  
  
Without warning Godfrey lunged. I smashed my sword down upon his and tried to force him back-to no avail. The boy was a wizard with his weapon. He pushed me farther and farther back, gaining more and more ground. I, frantic to keep him from striking me was clasping the sword with both hands and waving it wildly about and shrieking like a possessed person.  
  
I tried to jab at him when I got the chance to, but he simply blocked my thrusts with a flick of his wrist, and jabbed right back as if he was flicking a pesky fly away from him.  
  
At long last I finally began to pick up on his rhythm and was beginning to gain back some ground when Godfrey stuck his leg out as I stepped forward and tripped me. I fell flat on me face, my sword went flying and when I rolled over Godfrey flung himself down on top of me with his knee on my chest and his sword at my throat, holding my hands above my head with his free hand.  
  
He smirked. His smug, sallow face was so close to mine that I could smell his breath as he said, "Touche," and briefly touched the cold steel of his blunt mouche to my neck, declaring his victory.  
  
I glared at him as he stood and collected our weapons and tossed them to Jason. Brushing off my backside I joined Jason in returning the rapiers to our armory. I had a bruise on my elbow and a slightly twisted ankle, but most painful was my wounded pride.  
  
~~****~~  
  
When we returned, the Prince was in a suspiciously amiable mood.  
  
"What's in that tower over there?"  
  
"Which one?" Jason asked.  
  
"The tallest one. The one with the glass roof. What's in there?" Godfrey queried.  
  
I shrugged, "I don't know. All of our servants say it's haunted."  
  
"What, are you too afraid to go up there?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Scared the ghosties will gobble you up?"  
  
I felt the heat rising under my bodice but Jason reached out and briefly squeezed my hand. I relaxed. "I'm not afraid of anything." That was an outright lie. Of course I was scared. No one had entered that room since my birth. I did not know why. But if our kitchen staff said there were ghosts in there, I was willing to believe them.  
  
"I think you are scared. I'll bet you wouldn't go up there even if I dared you to."  
  
"Rose-" Jason warned.  
  
"Girls are too chicken to do anything."  
  
That did it. "I'll go. Just to show you."  
  
Jason buried his face in his hands and groaned, "Rose, you idiot he's just trying to get your goat."  
  
"I don't care. I'll show him who's a chicken." And with that I marched strait up to the palace and towards the spiral tower stairs.  
  
**OUTSIDE**  
  
"She'll never make it."  
  
Jason fought the urge to smack the stupid git upside the head. "You'd be surprised."  
  
"She'll turn back as soon as she reaches the chamber door."  
  
"Not if I know Rose."  
  
**INSIDE**  
  
The stairs were darker than I had imagined, and the passage was much smaller. I began to climb up, scurrying through the darkness, and lingering by the light from the windows that were few and far between. Up and up I went, uncertain that I would ever reach the top. And just as I was about to turn back, certain that I would never reach the top, I saw the oak door.  
  
**OUTSIDE**  
  
"So what is it with you two? She's not much of a princess, but why does she keep company with you, a stable boy?" the pompous Prince asked innocently.  
  
"Because I have the intelligence to say something other than snide remarks." Jason saw me wave and elbowed Godfrey in my direction. There was a moment's pause as they waited for me to descend.  
  
"Considering that I am of noble blood and you aren't, I'd watch my mouth if I were you," Godfrey retorted. The boys finally faced each other.  
  
"Listen you idiot, I don't care what kind of 'blood' you've got. I could wipe your backside across the tournament fields any day, so watch it," Jason said coolly.  
  
**INSIDE**  
  
I cautiously opened the heavy oak door and ran to the window to wave at the boys. After making sure they saw me I breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. This wasn't so bad. I fingered the scars on a pane of window glass and was wondering how they came to be there when an eerie red light lit up in my peripheral vision.  
  
**OUTSIDE**  
  
"Where's Rose? She should be here by now." Jason said.  
  
"I don't know. Who cares?"  
  
"I'm going up to look for her." Jason started towards the castle.  
  
"Why? She can't take care of herself?"  
  
"Because she's my friend and SHUT UP!" Jason called over his shoulder.  
  
**INSIDE**  
  
A faint voice was calling my name, telling me to turn around.  
  
**JASON**  
  
Jason raced up the stairs, heedless of the darkness."  
  
**ROSE**  
  
"Rose, Rose-" the voice echoed. I began to turn my body-  
  
Something crashed to my back! The light extinguished in a heartbeat and I turned to see Jason standing in the doorway.  
  
I gave a sigh of relief and crossed over to him.  
  
"Rose, I think you should stay away from this room."  
  
"I think you're right." 


	8. Suffering The Consequences

DISCLAIMER: If you are still confused I suggest you go research some copyright infringement litigation and get back to me.  
  
Author's Note: Today I started thinking about which fairy tale I would like to retell next. I've got a few possibilities but I thought I'd ask if you guys had any requests. If you do please post a REVIEW and include your requests and suggestions. I was considering "The Frog Prince", "Rapunzel", or .whatever. Please R&R. By the way, thanks to Lilimione for reviewing. I really appreciated it. And your reviews are very helpful.  
  
~~Chapter Eight~~  
  
The stairs were growing chillier and darker as I ascended. The radial stone steps were cracked and worn with age, my footsteps echoing off the stony walls into the oblivion. Somewhere a silky smooth voice was calling my name. It slid down over me from the expanse above. I had to reach it.  
  
I was staring at the broken windowpane. Its scars had shifted into the shape of a rose, jagged petals and thorns stretching to escape their confinements of glass. I tried to lift it out, but every time I reached out towards it I felt, not cool windowpane, but sharp punctures. My fingers began to bleed.  
  
"Rose-Rose-" there was a reddish glow behind me, calling my name, "Briar Rose-wake up!"  
  
My eyes flew open. Jason was standing over me repeating my name. "Rose, get up!"  
  
I gasped, my heart pulsating rapidly. The red light was gone, as was the windowpane, and the seductive voice beckoning to me had changed to the cracking speech of a pubescent male, whose voice had recently begun to change. I was nestled in the down mattress and silken sheets of my bed. The only circumstance that hadn't changed was the lighting. It was still pitch dark in my bedchamber.  
  
"Jason, what are you doing here? What time is it?" I moaned as my body relaxed back into its cocoon of quilts.  
  
"It is currently five o'clock in the morning and I'm here to waken you."  
  
I covered my head with a pillow, "Why?! It's too early."  
  
"Because of your miserable failure in your duel with that royal-pain-in-the- neck yesterday. You're going to learn how to fence." Jason threw something soft and light on top of me. "Now get up."  
  
I rolled onto my back and sat up in bed. A shirt and a pair of breeches were laying across my legs. Still not fully awake I picked up the clothes and turned them over in my hands. Boy's clothes. "What are these for?" I asked in puzzlement.  
  
"You're going to wear them. You can't learn to fence in a dress. I'll not have you tripping over your skirts mid-lunge." He lit a few of my large candles and said, "Now hurry, I've got to break in your father's new riding horse today and I'm watching Maximus enchant a porcupine this afternoon." He opened my door to leave as I changed.  
  
"Jason!" I called out as he closed the door, "Mother won't like me wearing these clothes or my learning combat. Who's going to teach me?"  
  
With only his left eye and half of a roguish smile showing in the door crack Jason replied in a self-assured voice, "I am."  
  
**~~**  
  
It was only a week after my birthday, in June so we were lucky to avoid the early morning chill that ensued from September until March.  
  
Our palace was built on a small scenic plain, facing East, out over the Borandon Ocean. Far to the Southwest was the Heddwyn Mountain Range. To the West, Lake Glyndwr, filled a small valley, River Wendolyn trickled from this lake, down to the ocean. A small meadow lay slightly to the North. It was rather secluded by the forests that surrounded our castle. I will not say that the Castle of Eldron was in an ideal defense location, but that was not the intention when it was built. Eldron had not seen a war in over a hundred years. My great-grandfather had adopted a code of chivalry when he ascended the throne and built the palace, and by some strange turn of events, we had not fought a battle since.  
  
Jason and I traipsed into the meadow. It had seemed to be the least likely place we would be caught. Strictly speaking, combat training was not a "proper" study for women. And a woman was practically more modest naked than in trousers. I knew that there would be Hell to pay if I was caught in both offenses at once.  
  
By now I was fully awake and resolved to master whatever Jason could teach me. We cast our sheaths off to the side and Jason was helping me position my body.  
  
"You're right handed so lean forward on your right leg and keep your left to the back. Your left arm should be slightly back to balance yourself." He reached over and adjusted the hilt of my sword in my hand, "This guard should completely cover your knuckles. Okay, now, basic leg movement is a sort of shuffling movement. You should lunge forward to begin your attack, make a sort of figure-eight motion with your wrist. That's good. Now try to touch me."  
  
Jason backed up, opposite me, "Just simple, basic movements. Try to touch my chest with your rapier." He bent into position. I did the same, slightly nervous, unsure of myself. I caught his eye and held it as he said, "En gard!" and hesitating briefly to allow me a head start, lunged forward and began to parry. I tried to apply the movements he had shown me, but as I tried to concentrate on my wrist Jason gradually pushed me backwards and soon I realized that I had lost a good ten yards. As I switched focus to notice this fact, Jason flipped his wrist and jabbed me in the chest with his blunt training sword. "Touche," he remarked casually and backed off. "Not bad Rose, but this time just try to stand your ground. Don't worry about advancing yet. Just stay put."  
  
For the next hour we parried and Jason made comments about my stance and attacks. Soon, it was near six o' clock and we were hot, sweaty, and tired. We were also in danger of being seen. Hearing the bell's of a nearby church sound we sheathed our weapons and hurried back to the castle.  
  
We entered the castle quietly, through a back kitchen door. Jason handed me the swords and slunk off through the corridors to return to his room before the other servants left theirs. I scurried to my bedchamber. Once, I had to duck behind a door as a maid passed by. Luckily for me she was carrying a load of laundry in her arms and was more concerned with the slipping underclothes than ten-year-old princesses running around in breeches, carrying training rapiers.  
  
Upon reaching my room I crawled under my bed, wriggling out of my boy's clothing. I carefully hid the swords and garments under a loose floorboard near the head of the bed. I then crawled out, dusted myself off, and quickly donned a light green gown. I braided my hair and ran out the door, down to grab and early breakfast.  
  
A rigid grip on my shoulder halted my flight. I winced as I heard my mother's voice, "Briar Rose, I think you owe me an explanation."  
  
I slowly turned towards my mother, trying to think of a way out of this one, "For what Mother?" I asked innocently.  
  
"For your disgraceful behavior." Her large, exotic, brown eyes stared sternly into my small blue ones, hiding the panic inside my chest. How on earth was I going to explain my attire and possessions this morning without incriminating Jason as well?  
  
"Well, you see, I thought that wearing-"  
  
"Your father and I can never show our faces in Linderly again! We are the laughing stock of the entire court. We, and our mud-covered daughter in her tattered gown!"  
  
So, this wasn't about this morning. Although I should have been cowering in fear of her punishment, I breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Mother wasn't finished, "The only good thing to come of this is that King Marius thinks that your mud-covered entrance was 'simply hilarious' and that he will continue visit our home."  
  
"Why does that matter?" I asked before I could think that this probably was not a good time to interrupt.  
  
Mother frowned, "Never you mind. The only thing you need to be concerned with is your punishment. I have no idea what possessed you to do what you did but it is no longer important. You will be confined to your room today. I will have your meals sent up. Hopefully this will keep you clean and respectable for the next twenty-four hours. Maybe during that time you can consider what you have done and make a few wise decisions."  
  
With that Mother firmly grasped my elbow and pushed me back into my room. The large oak door shut with slightly more force than usual, and I heard the turn of the key in the lock. I stood staring at the door in anger for a few moments and then began to pick up my room. I was not the neatest of girls but being disorderly had its advantages. Whenever I became stressed I would absentmindedly clean things.  
  
An hour later my breakfast arrived. Oat cakes, a pear, and a glass of white grape juice. I wolfed it down and, having dusted my armoire for the fourth time, leafed through a few well-read books. It was an inopportune time to realize that I had already read all of the books in my shelves many times and was in dire need of something new to read. But it could not be helped now. I finally sank down on my bay window seat and rested my head against the cool windowpane. Far across the grounds the sea waves broke on our shores, the roaring white foam cascading over rocks and sand. Then, ever so faintly, singing reached my ears. I opened my window and leaned out to hear the song more clearly. Far out to sea I could barely make out the forms of three young women floating in the water. Mermaids.  
  
"The sun rises from her dark cave As we must all rise from our sins. Listen to the sea, telling you, Sacred secrets from before the Dawn of time, forget your worries. Look only to your heart's desire. Sometimes what we search hardest for, Is already within our hearts. Search deep, emerge from your darkness, And find the strong courage within."  
  
They were the most beautiful creatures ever beheld by man. Legends spoke of their powers of seduction over the sailors, and though I could not see them clearly, their haunting music had enchanted me. As I strained to hear their voices again, another hit my ears, "Rose!"  
  
Below me Jason was calling up the castle wall.  
  
"What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be with Maximus!"  
  
"I was. The porcupine escaped and is now running rampant throughout the gardens. It did however, manage to stick Maximus with a few quills before it left. He seemed rather tired and told me to take the day off while he soaked and bandaged his hand." There was a brief pause as he contemplated me. "What are you doing up there anyway?"  
  
"Being punished. I'm not to leave until tomorrow morning." I sighed and continued, "It's incredibly boring and I think I'll go crazy if I'm in here to much longer."  
  
"Tie your sheets together and through them down to me."  
  
This was a rather unusual request. "What?! Why?"  
  
"So I can climb up you idiot. What did you think?"  
  
"But I can't leave."  
  
"I know, but the Queen never said, no one else could come up did she?" A mischievous grin played across his face. I had never known Jason to break the rules. That was my job. So I quickly tore my sheets off my bed and knotted them together and lowered them out of my window.  
  
Jason took hold of them and bracing his feet against he stone wall, began to climb up the tower wall. I held onto the sheets and grabbed his hand to help pull him into the room when he reached my window. Jason pulled in the sheets and stowed them under my bed. He then turned to look at me.  
  
I spoke first, "You don't have to stay here. I'm not trying to punish you as well."  
  
"No, it's my fault as well. If I hadn't taken you down to that lake you would never have gotten so dirty." He shook his head. "Well, at least we're together. What shall we do your highness?" 


	9. Sunlight and Shadows

DISCLAIMER: It's not mine. Don't sue me. I have no money.  
  
Author's Note: Okay, in my opinion at least, this is where the fun begins. Thank you to those of you who have reviewed-keep it up! Reviews make me happy and inspire me to write. So if you want to hear the second half of this fanfic REVIEW! Otherwise, you will die in misery, never knowing my secrets. (  
  
~~Chapter Nine~~  
  
"I just don't understand," I said as I slid my feet into a silver pair of slippers while tying up a portion of my hair, "Prince Godfrey has visited here the past five summers. Why is it so vital that he returns here every year?"  
  
Mother waited for me to finish fiddling with my hair and handed me a silver necklace to fasten around my neck. "I'm amazed you haven't figured it out yet Rose," she said, withdrawing her hand, "Have you been so unconcerned that you failed to notice that he is only a year older than you, that he is crown prince to a nation that could provide us with economic stability, and that the entire point of his visits here are to see you?"  
  
My eyes narrowed and I withdrew slightly in suspicion, "What do you mean?"  
  
"He is to be your husband. We will announce your engagement to Godfrey on your twenty-first birthday."  
  
I cried out in shock, "What?! Why?!"  
  
"Oh Rose, don't act so melodramatic. There's nothing wrong with Godfrey. He's a fine match. He's handsome-"  
  
"To a female weasel."  
  
"He's rich-"  
  
"We have more money than him."  
  
"He's royalty-"  
  
"And we would be?"  
  
Mother apparently didn't appreciate my sarcasm. Her large, brown eyes flashed and she held up a hand for silence. "You should be pleased."  
  
"Well, I'm not. He's an idiot. He's rude, uncouth, self-centered, and completely despicable." I spat as I faced my mother and used my height to its full advantage. At fifteen I had inherited my father's height and was already taller than my petite mother. I possessed none of her physical traits, her large, exotic eyes, her fine, silky hair, or her delicate facial bones. I was the spitting image of my father. Tall, small blue eyes, thick blonde hair that tended to frizz when let out of its braids, and strong, well defined facial features. I suppose I was pretty, but not necessarily beautiful. It was my mother who was striking.  
  
At that moment, there was a swift rapping on the door and a page peered into the room. "Your Majesty, the Minister of Trade would like to have a word with you." His eyes shifted anxiously about the tense atmosphere.  
  
Mother started for the door, "Of course." She turned back to me as she entered the doorway, "Briar Rose, we will discuss this later," and left.  
  
As soon as the door was shut I threw my hands up into the air and groaned through gritted teeth. I flipped my hair off my shoulders in an impatient flick of my head and stood in silence for a moment, studying the knots in the wooden floors and thinking. Another knock on my door broke my dazed spell and expecting Mother again, I marched over, threw open the door and cried, "What?!" in a rather exasperated tone before I realized who my visitor was. It was Maximus.  
  
"It's just me you know. No reason to shout." He stepped through the doorway, ducking a little as the frame was a slightly too short for him. Maximus' height always amazed me. My father was a large man, but Maximus' stature was much lighter and higher than even his. It seemed almost unnatural, but I chalked this up to being a wizard.  
  
"I'm sorry Maximus. I thought it was-"  
  
"Your mother."  
  
"Yes, how did you know?"  
  
"Your face is transparent my dear. You will never be much good at cards I'm afraid. Your eyes reveal everything." Maximus crossed the room to take a seat in an armchair. "Now, what is the matter? I heard raised voices coming from your room."  
  
The tension returned to my shoulders, "Mother want's me to marry Prince Godfrey."  
  
"Yes, I know. It has been the wish of the high council, and your mother since you were born," Maximus mused as he rubbed his fingers together. He then peered at me from over the tops of his spectacles, "How do you feel about it?"  
  
"How do I feel about it? How do I feel about it?! I detest the idea! He's a horrible person! I hate him! I have no idea how she could even consider such a thing!"  
  
"It was thought best, for the economy and for your safety." Maximus continued to rub the tips of his fingers together.  
  
"For my safety!" I blurted out, "I know that we need their cloth but why can't we just build our own spinning wheels? Are we all cursed or something?" I spat in sarcasm. "And what about my safety! I see no reason that my marrying some pompous imbecile from a nearby kingdom would protect me from anything!"  
  
Maximus did not say anything for a moment and avoided my eyes. Then, "Rose, I do not like this idea any more than you do. I do not think it will solve anything. But for the time being, it is simply best to go along with your mother."  
  
I glared at him in animosity. He rose from his chair.  
  
"Why don't you go talk to Jason about it? I cannot lend him to you for the whole day I fear, I need him to help me mix a potion for a badger who thinks he is a flying squirrel this afternoon, but you can have him for an hour or so."  
  
I opened my mouth to speak, and shut it again as I was nearly choked by the exclamations that rushed to my lips. I threw up my hands in the air and stormed outside.  
  
~~**~~  
  
I arrived in the stables to find Jason distributing fresh hay to the horses. I grabbed a bale and dragged it into the stall. Jason raised his eyebrows.  
  
"What's wrong? I thought you were talking with your mother."  
  
"I was. I left."  
  
Jason glanced at me sideways with a grin, "Ah, more husband hunting huh?"  
  
"No, she's already caught one."  
  
He froze, "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean that she's practically got the ring. She already has the engagement day set." I pitched more hay, perhaps a little harder than I should have as some of it flew into Jason's hair. He didn't bother to brush it out.  
  
Realization dawned on his face as he said, "So that's why the Prince visits here every summer. You're betrothed to Prince Godfrey."  
  
My shoulders sagged and I leaned against my pitchfork, "Yes. Our engagement will be announced on my twenty-first birthday."  
  
"Why him?"  
  
"I don't know. It has to do with some stupid economic problem Eldron is having."  
  
"But-you don't love him."  
  
I looked away, "Doesn't matter. Mother doesn't care. She keeps saying she's looking out for my 'safety' but I have no idea what she's talking about."  
  
Jason laid down his pitchfork and turned to stand directly in front of me. I crossed my arms and bit my lip to avoid saying anything worse about my mother. I looked away, but was still strangely aware of his concerned gaze. He took my by the shoulders and made me make eye contact with him.  
  
"Isn't there anything you can do? That your father can do? That I can do?"  
  
"No. There's nothing that can be done. She is the Queen. I am only a princess. I am her subject. End of discussion. The word 'daughter' means nothing to her." I stared up into his sparkling hazel eyes.  
  
The thought faintly registering in my head that Jason was genuine. Real in a way that Godfrey never could be. Godfrey was so bland, without any personality. Jason was just the opposite. I knew everything about him. I knew about his intelligence, his sense of humor, his hearty laughter that seemed to come from deep within his soul. His gift with horses, his allergy to shellfish, even his love of snow peas. I knew him inside and out. He was my very best friend.  
  
"Don't worry. We'll find a way." Jason pulled me into a strong, reassuring hug. His presence was so comforting. The tension left my shoulders and I enjoyed the warm feeling of security.  
  
We pulled away and after a moment of silence I began to walk out. Then he called me back, "Oh Rose?"  
  
I turned around, "Yes?"  
  
"I forgot to give you something."  
  
I was confused. "What?"  
  
"THIS!" In one swift move he grabbed a handful of hay and pelted me with it! I grinned, "Oh no you don't!" and threw some back at him. He ducked and laughed, grabbing more hay as we battled, thoroughly destroying all the work we had put into the stall.  
  
"Girl, who taught you how to throw? The horse?"  
  
"Everything I know I learned from you!" Then I hit him square on, "Except that, which's my own talent!"  
  
We kept it up until finally I fell down in the soft fluff. Laughing so hard I thought he would explode Jason fell down beside me. "Your HAIR!" he managed to choke out.  
  
I kept giggling, "You don't look so good yourself!" My sides hurt, but, oh, it felt so good to laugh! After a minute we began to calm down, and Jason reached over to pull the straw out of my hair. There was a period of relaxed silence as we watched the shadows and sunlight play across our bodies and the stallions galloping out in the distance. A warm breeze wafted the sweet smell of hay past our noses and we basked in the golden afternoon.  
  
I sighed contentedly and murmured, "Godfrey doesn't matter. Life is beautiful. He could never destroy that."  
  
Jason turned over to look at me, "You are too good for him." He smiled and his emerald green eyes sparkled again in a way, which always mesmerized me. It was as if there was some light behind them that shown through.or maybe that was just his unblemished heart.  
  
"Rose! Jason!" Maximus slid open the barn door and stepped inside. Jason reached over and placed a hand over my mouth. He held another finger to his lips to shush me and we crept quietly to our feet. We slid to the side of the stall next to the hallway and Jason mouthed to me, "One.two.three!"  
  
We both jumped up and cried out causing Maximus to scream so hard I though the whole barn was going to come crashing down. Jason and I fell down again, helpless against the laughter. "Here we are!" Jason chuckled.  
  
"Yes, and you're enough to give a person a heart attack!" Maximus grinned and shook his head. "Alright then, that's enough. Jason, I need you to return to my tower for tutoring. Rose, you can come and watch us enchant a few woodland creatures if you wish."  
  
Jason and I pulled each other up into standing positions and joined Maximus to return to the castle. As we did, I noticed a faint knowing smile playing upon Maximus' lips. 


	10. A Half Unconscience Queen

DISCLAIMER: If you are still reading this.you are seriously confused.  
  
Author's Note: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! Keep it up! By the way, a reader pointed out a mistake I make in Ch. 8.Jason's eyes are hazel, not green. Sorry for the inconvenience.  
  
~~Chapter 10~~  
  
It had been nearly eight years since Godfrey and I had first met on my tenth birthday. Three years since I learned of our engagement. Each summer, the Prince still came to visit, and each summer I detested him more. The little weasel remained short and scrawny. His pale blonde hair and light- green eyes gave him a very washed out appearance. Even his leering, crooked smile ignited flames of anger inside me. However, the more abhorrent as he became, the more my mother loved him.  
  
It was the eve of my eighteenth birthday. Tomorrow a ball would be held in my honor and my engagement to Prince Godfrey formally declared. I had moped around the castle for most of the day, pestering Maximus in his tower laboratory until he finally threw me out into the gardens. Jason had found me wandering around the rose bushes and had taken it upon himself to bring me out of my dazed latitude.  
  
"Rose, wake up," me prodded me in the back, "Are you alive?"  
  
Irritated, I snapped, "Of course I am! I imagine I have the right to think if I wish!"  
  
"You're upset, and I don't blame you. But can't we take your mind off of it somehow?"  
  
"Gosh Jason, I don't know," I replied in a sarcastic voice, "Tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday. I'm going to be married off to the most moronic person in the entire world, and forced to spend the rest of my life in some foreign palace, raising children and sewing tapestries of my idiot husband's so-called escapades, with no friends, no family, and no one to love!" My voice broke on the last word and I fell into Jason's arms and began to sob.  
  
"I hate him! I hate him! How could she do this to me? How could my own mother make me wed this vile person?" I buried my face into his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his neck. Through the violent shakes of my body I felt his arms encircle my waist and their warm reassurance spread throughout my flesh.  
  
"Tomorrow, will be the last day I ever spend here at Eldron. The last time I ever ride Delilah through the meadow, the last time I ever swim in the lake or sleep in the hay loft, or even see you." I lifted my head from his shoulder and gazed into his deep hazel eyes, "Jason, you are my best friend in the entire world, and after tomorrow, I will never see you again. What will I do without you?" For a moment our faces were within an inch of each other, a strange tremor seemed to come through me and then-  
  
Jason released his grip on my waist and stepped backwards. His eyes were slightly anxious and he shook just a little. A cold feeling came over me and I felt slightly off balance. I wasn't sure just what had happened, but it unnerved me. Why had that little shock felt so nice?  
  
"Rose, I don't know what to tell you. I don't know even if there is anything we can do. You and I have always found a way out of sticky situations, but," here he paused, as if it cause him a great effort to say it, "I'm not sure there is a way out of this one. You are a legal subject of the Queen and must do as she commands. I could not move to Linderly for you even if I wasn't stuck here until my apprenticeship with Maximus is through. Godfrey hates me with a passion and would never allow me on his grounds." Jason looked upset and for the first time in his life said, "He's a prince. I am nothing. Just a stable boy. I have no money, no power, not even a good name. I wish,--I wish I was a prince. Then I could take you away from all this."  
  
My stomach was twisting it's self up in knots. Why were all these butterflies stirred up all of a sudden? The feeling frightened me and I leaned against an oak tree for support. It took all the energy I had to force out my next words, "Jason, don't say things like that. You are better than Godfrey. He is crude, spoilt, and obnoxious. You are kind, loyal, just, and honorable. It is you who is the prince, not him." The words began to come to my mouth easier. I rose from my limp position against the standing timber and faced Jason.  
  
"When I was younger, Mother used to read fairy tales to me at night before I went to sleep. She never seemed to want to leave my room," I smiled at this, remembering one of the few warm memories of my mother. "In the stories, the beautiful princess was always rescued by the handsome Prince Charming who dashed gallantly to her side. Then, like an idiot, the girl would marry the dashing stranger and they would live happily ever after." Here I stopped and looked Jason directly in the eyes, "But life is not a fairy tale. The princess does not always fall in love with her rescuer. Nobility is not a measurement for worth. Just once, I would like the princess to kiss the frog and have him turn into-" I searched for a word, "well, a stable boy."  
  
There was a moment of silence and Jason said quietly, "You are much to good for him Briar Rose." Then with a flick of his hand he summoned a rose to himself from the bushes ten feet away. The rose floated gently above his hand for a moment and then flew towards me.  
  
"Here," he said with a boyish grin, "Maybe this will cheer you up."  
  
I took the flower and smiled, "Well, you have been working hard with Maximus. Jason, you-"  
  
A voice sliced through the air, "Rose! Rose come inside, I need to alter your gown! Rose!" My mother was calling.  
  
"I have to go," I said hurriedly to Jason and with an apologetic glance, ran off towards the castle.  
  
~~****~~  
  
I arrived breathlessly in my bedroom. Mother was pointing out something on the gown bodice to a young seamstress. When she saw me enter the room she lifted the dress and brought it over to me. She set the garment upon a stool and gently rotated my body to undo my lacings.  
  
"You're a mess! Look at you! Sweaty, puffy red eyes-" she lifted off my frock. "Honestly Rose."  
  
As I turned to put on my dress I dropped the rose Jason had given me onto an end table. I began to pull on the half-sewn, half-pinned ball gown and was aware of Mother's movements out of my peripheral vision. She picked up the rose. There was a puzzled expression on her face.  
  
"Where did you get this, Rose?" she held up the flower.  
  
"Rose garden," I mumbled through the thick fabric, for some reason I did not want to tell her exactly who had given it to me.  
  
Mother reached up and pulled the dress below my head. She set the rose back on the table and began to lace up my gown. "Where were you this afternoon?" she asked, her voice sounding slightly tense.  
  
"Rose garden," I repeated, then added casually, though I wasn't sure why, "With Jason."  
  
Mother suddenly gave an extra hard tug on my lacings and said quietly, "Did he give you that rose?"  
  
"Yes-" I said slowly. What was she playing at?  
  
"You know I don't like you to spend so much time with him Briar Rose. You're a princess. He's a commoner. You know I don't like that."  
  
The stress of the day was wearing on me, "So what?" I snapped, "He's a better man than Godfrey."  
  
Mother jerked me around to face her. Her cold brown eyes searched my blue ones and she uttered in deadly quiet voice, "What do you mean, Rose?"  
  
The young seamstress dropped a brief curtsey and scurried out of the room. I stood my ground. "I mean that Jason is courageous, kind, honorable, and virtuous. He outshines Godfrey any day."  
  
A look of dawning realization illuminated my mother's face. She clenched my arms tightly and growled through gritted teeth, "Briar Rose Elfleda Calanthe Regina.you are not to see that boy again."  
  
"What! Why?" I gasped and shoved her hands away from my shoulders.  
  
"I forbid it."  
  
"But you must have a reason!" I cried.  
  
Her eyes flashed, "We will announce your engagement to Prince Godfrey tomorrow night. Then you will depart for Linderly. Jason will no longer be a-a distraction to you."  
  
She turned on her heel and marched out the door, slamming is shut behind her in the process.  
  
I sank to the floor in wrenching sobs. A few of the pins in the dress pricked me, but I paid them no mind. The red, flame-like rays of the dying sun scorched the sky, and the Borandon Ocean seemed to flow with tears of blood, matching the salt ones pouring down my cheeks drop for drop. 


	11. Thinks These Dark Days of Autumn Rain

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Grimm's version. This is mine.  
  
Author's Note: (A note to Amadea: Sylvanna's comment was just supposed to be nice and scary. Just theatrical effects.) Here it is! Rose's eighteenth birthday!  
  
~~Chapter 11~~  
  
The cool breeze smelled of rain as I leaned out my window and allowed it to caress my face. Long shadows were beginning to fall across the land. Far to the West, the sun was laying its head down to sleep. Somewhere, thunder was faintly rumbling.  
  
I sat on my window seat with the panes open as I pinned up my hair with two diamond clips my mother had given me as a birthday present. The cold stones pressed into my hands, leaving marks upon my fingers as I entwined the precious gems into my hair. The jewels were worth more money than a commoner would see in a lifetime, but they meant nothing to me. To me, they were heavier than a crown. Chains of royalty, shackles of duty.  
  
I rose and slid my feet into a pair of black formal shoes, matching my gown. I had firmly requested a black dress, against my mother's wishes, as I viewed this night, not as a celebration of marriage, but as a funeral. My funeral. My heart had hardened against my mother. I would marry Prince Godfrey if the Queen commanded it, but no one could force me to love him. As I went through the sluggish movements of dressing I felt cold, as if I would never again feel passion or love for anything. As though I was nothing but an empty shell of a human being, a corpse being prepared for burial.  
  
From my door there came a soft rapping. A young page entered, "Your highness?"  
  
I slowly turned my face towards him.  
  
He faltered for a moment and then said quietly, "It is time."  
  
With one last glance around my room, I followed him silently out the door and down into the Great Hall.  
  
~~****~~  
  
The King and Queen were awaiting my arrival upon their thrones. Father looked ancient tonight. I noticed the silver lining his beard and golden mane of hair. Even his brilliant blue eyes that he had given to me were paled. However, he still looked as regal as ever as he rose to give me his blessing.  
  
Mother did not rise quite as quickly as father, but slowly and smoothly. Her eyes never left mine as she stood and I knelt. I held her gaze of mutual enmity all the while father proclaimed his blessing over me. Neither would look away. I fought back tears as my eyes watered from restraining blinking. I would see her yield before I would surrender to her will.  
  
Father took my hands and kissed me. He began to declare some well chosen words aloud, but I did not hear him. My entire being was focused on my mother. Holding her gaze. Staring her down. I was the spitting image of my father, but I had inherited my mother's will. And though I had to obey her commands by law, I would never give her the satisfaction of bending to her will.  
  
As customary, she approached me next and took my hands, and kissed me briefly on the cheek. As she leaned in she whispered in a harsh voice, "Behave civilly tonight Briar Rose. Everyone is watching. Don't you dare embarrass me."  
  
As we pulled apart, my father clapped his hands and the music began.  
  
~~****~~  
  
Hours passed. Lords and ladies whirled about on the dance floor in a sea of color, a tapestry of silks, satins, and velvets. Laughter and singing beat against me like a crashing wave. Pomp and festivities arranged only for my pleasure. And still I sat, stone-like upon my throne.  
  
Late that night, it must have been after eleven, mother ordered me to rise.  
  
"Princess Briar Rose, I believe that your fiancé would like to dance with you." She gestured behind her to Godfrey, who was leering at me with a look of smug satisfaction. I fixed a steely glare on mother, mimicking her own actions and rose dutifully from my throne.  
  
Prince Godfrey caught my hand and held it tightly as he pulled me to the dance floor. He jerked me towards him and gripped my waist tightly with his other hand. And still I could do nothing about it.  
  
We began to revolve, aware of the stares people were giving us, trying to see if the Prince and Princess were blissful.  
  
Godfrey spoke, "I would have thought you'd wear a more appropriate gown tonight Rose, this is a celebration of our marriage after all."  
  
"Coming marriage," I corrected him, "And I will wear whatever I please."  
  
His eyes glinted, and he leaned forward to whisper in my ear, "Until tomorrow. Then you will return to Linderly with me and become my wife."  
  
Inside, I trembled, but I was determined not to allow Godfrey to see my weakness. I kept my head high and my shoulders back as I searched the crowd for a familiar face. I saw no one.  
  
"I believe you owe me an apology Rose."  
  
"For what?" I spat.  
  
"For ignoring me so long this evening. You shouldn't neglect your husband."  
  
"Future--husband," I said quietly. Then I saw him! Jason! He was gazing at me from behind a count and I stopped short. He was dressed in magnificent golden robes with green leave patterns bordering the material. His height was accented even more by it. And his hazel eyes sparkled more brightly. He did not look anything like a lowly stable boy, but a great king.  
  
Godfrey turned to see what I was looking at. "Who is that?" Even Godfrey did not recognize his bitter enemy.  
  
"Jason," I breathed.  
  
Godfrey squinted at him again, "Well, well, the beggar brat has certainly grown up."  
  
I glared at Godfrey and then returned my wonder to Jason.  
  
Godfrey tugged at my hand, "Come now, you won't be allowed to look at other men like that after we are married. I will have to train you properly."  
  
That hit home. I jerked my hand out of his grasp. "What?!" I growled.  
  
"Train, you to behave as I wish."  
  
"I will not be treated like some dog." I turned and began to march away. Godfrey grabbed my wrist to yank me back but I quickly flipped my arm and threw him off, using a fencing move Jason had taught me. I slapped him hard across the face and bellowed, "I will NEVER be your queen!" In that moment I had defied my mother, my father, and my country for what I knew to be right and true. I did not love him.  
  
I marched out of the ballroom only to have Jason intercept me. "I saw what happened."  
  
I nodded.  
  
"Do you want to go outside?" he asked gently. I nodded again. And allowed him to lead me out into the gardens.  
  
We sat upon a stone bench under the night sky. The sky was clouded, hiding all stars from view and the air was beginning to feel moist.  
  
I sighed and leaned against Jason. The tension was slowly leaving me. "Mother is going to kill me isn't she?"  
  
"No, she won't. You're her only daughter. She can't."  
  
We sat in silence for a minute more, listening to the music playing from the Great Hall. Then, Jason said, "Feel any better?"  
  
"Yes, thanks."  
  
"Good, because I want to give you your present."  
  
"Jason, you don't have to do that."  
  
"I know, but," he pulled a small wooden box out of his pocket, "I wanted to." He handed the box to me and I lifted the lid. Inside was a small rose shaped pendant, on a silver chain. The very same one I had seen in Jason's luggage eleven years ago. I gasped and fingered the gleaming stone.  
  
"Jason, you can't give this to me, this belonged to your mother!" I protested.  
  
"I want you to have it."  
  
I lifted the necklace over my head and settled it onto my neck. "It's beautiful. Thank you."  
  
"Not near as beautiful as you."  
  
He rose and stood in front of me and held out is hand, "Would you care to dance?"  
  
The angels in Heaven seemed to hold their breath as I slid my hand into his and said quietly, "Yes."  
  
Jason gently pulled me towards him and lightly laid his hand upon my waist. We began to spin, and twirl to the soft music.  
  
The rain began to sprinkle. Then it came down harder, and harder, until we were thoroughly drenched-dancing in the rain.  
  
Soon, Jason came to a slow stop and drew me closer to him. I could still see the amazing beauty of his eyes through the pouring rain, as he brought his hands to my face and caressed my cheeks. Slowly, he closed his eyes and drew my face close to his-  
  
"BRIAR ROSE!" My mother was storming towards us, heedless of the blinding rain.  
  
"GET INSIDE IMMEDIATEL!" She grabbed my wrist and threw me to a soldier following her. He hauled me, kicking and screaming, into the castle and threw me into my bedroom, locking the door behind him. 


	12. The Secrets of the Night

Disclaimer: You know the drill.  
  
Author's Note: Ok, the scene you've all been waiting for---the spinning wheel.  
  
To Aurora, thank you for the chastisement. I should have noticed that. To dorkiegirl186: Let me explain, it's not the the Queen hates Rose, it's just that she is extremely overprotective, almost to the point of insanity. I mean, if you had had three misscarriages, risked your life to ask an evil fairy for help and when at last got your baby were told you were going to lose her to the said witch's curse---you'd be overprotective too. Think about it.  
  
Thank you to Tranquill who has reviewed at least three times. And to singingstrawberri who gave an AWESOME review. That made me happy! To the rest of you-REVIEW!  
  
~~Chapter Twelve~~  
  
I flung myself at the heavy oak door and somewhere between screaming and crying shouted after the guard to let me out. I clawed at the door handle and attempted to wrench it open, but to no avail. The door refused to budge.  
  
I ran to the window, perhaps I could cry out to Mother from my room. I threw open the windowpanes and leaned out calling, "MOTHER! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! FOR GOD'S SAKE DON'T DO THIS!" But all I succeeded in was drenching myself yet again. Even if she could have heard me over the thunderstorm, Mother was the most stubborn woman in the entire world.  
  
There was a scrapping sound at my door. The lock was turning. I turned around to see Maximus' haggard face emerging from the doorway. I threw myself at him and began to cry, "Maximus you've got to do something! Mother's insane! She's going to do something horrible to Jason!"  
  
"What happened?" Maximus placed his hands firmly on my shoulders and stared intently into my eyes with great control and restraint. I do not believe Maximus ever asked a question he did not know the answer to, for even then his voice was steady and certain.  
  
I lowered my voice and said, "Godfrey was saying terrible things to me. I denied that I would marry him and left the hall. I met Jason outside and we started talking and dancing and before I knew it we almost---" Here I trailed off. I suddenly began to realize exactly what had almost happened.  
  
"Almost what Rose?" Maximus asked in a slightly urgent voice.  
  
I was silent for a moment in dawning realization and then said quietly, "Almost kissed."  
  
For reasons unknown to me there was a sudden look of triumph in Maximus' eyes as he asked gently, "Rose, do you---care for Jason?"  
  
I had never known it before. But occurred to me now that, "I love him," I said with certainty. Everything began to make sense. I knew why I had had that jolting shock yesterday when I had been so close to Jason. Why it was he from whom I sought comfort and advice. Why it was he who I felt safe with. Why I had always hated Godfrey for his advances, and Mother for trying to marry me off to him. I loved Jason. I had loved him all along.  
  
As I was considering these thoughts Maximus reached down to my neck and gently lifted my necklace a few inches to examine it. For the first time I saw confusion cross his face. "Rose, where did you get this?"  
  
Lost in the haze of thought I replied, "What?"  
  
"This necklace, where did you get it?"  
  
I glanced down at the shimmering silver rose-shaped pendant and glowing stone within. "Oh, Jason gave it to me as a birthday gift. It's beautiful isn't it?"  
  
Astonishment mixed with amazement covered his face. "Jason gave---but no one would ever---of course he doesn't---but I mean---my God I didn't even know he had this to begin with," then he paused and breathed, "Myranda."  
  
"Who---" I began but was cut off when my mother entered the room. Her face was fixed with fury. She quickly marched over to me and gave my face a stinging slap!  
  
I gasped and clasped my burning face as Maximus started towards us, "Marigold---"  
  
Mother ignored him. "How dare you defy me? I gave strict orders that you were not to create a scene and you still managed to cause a scandal!" She paused and continued, "A stable boy?! He is nothing! He is common trash, dirt beneath our feet! I offer you a prince, a man who descends from an ancient line of nobility, who could offer you a lifetime of comfort, and you choose a penniless, peasant boy who shovels horse manure for a living?!"  
  
There was silence in the room. Maximus appeared frozen in his tracks. I was still bent with pain. Mother's voice grew deadly cold and she continued, "Tomorrow morning you will journey to Linderly under guard, where you will marry Prince Godfrey before the sun sets. Jason will be sent far away. I will make certain you will never see him again."  
  
I stood up strait and looked my mother directly in the eyes, "No."  
  
"I gave you an order Briar Rose."  
  
"I don't care. I will not marry Prince Godfrey. I will not leave Jason."  
  
Mother's voice rose slightly, "You will not sacrifice your safety for a stable boy!"  
  
"What safety?" I cried, "What are you talking about? All my life you've been keeping something from me! What?" I took a breath, "I love him. I do. I love Jason Kelmond and there is nothing you can do to stop me. I will not marry your weasel-faced prince!"  
  
"For God's sake, I nearly lost you once, I will not lost you again!"  
  
"What are you talking about?!" I cried.  
  
"Nothing!"  
  
"What are you hiding from me?!"  
  
"I'm not hiding anything!"  
  
"Yes you are!"  
  
"No I'm not!"  
  
"What is it?! Tell me!" I grabbed a hold of her shoulders and shook my mother as I screamed.  
  
Finally she broke down in sobs, "Fine! Rose, you are under a curse."  
  
I let go and took a step back, "What?"  
  
"Before you were born I had lost three children before they left my womb. I was desperate to bear a child and in desperation sought aid from a witch."  
  
"Sylvanna," I murmered the name of the witch fairy in dissbelief.  
  
"I made a deal with the devil herself to get you Rose. But I---I did not uphold my end of bargain and she arrived at your christening to repay me for my actions. She curse you. Swearing you would die before midnight on your eighteenth birthday."  
  
Unconsiously, I glanced at the clock in my bedroom which read, 11:52. "Die?" I repeated in shock.  
  
"But someone else, a wise and kind fairy softened the curse. Now you will only sleep until awakened by true love's kiss."  
  
"Who?" I asked.  
  
"I did," Maximus said quietly. "As your Godfather it was my right to bestow a gift upon you. I was not powerful enough to remove the curse, but I did what I could to ease it."  
  
I stepped forward, my hands shaking, "Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded.  
  
"I---we---we didn't want you to worry."  
  
"What?!" I cried outraged.  
  
"We didn't want you to grow up living in fear!"  
  
Like the fuse to a bomb my anger and grief were piling up on top of each other. Finally I could take it no more! The bomb exploded! I bolted out of the room, throwing the heavy oak door aside as if it were made of feathers! I raced down the hall crying.  
  
"Rose!---Rose!" I heard mother and Maximus calling after me, but I barely heard them. I just kept running. It was all I could do.  
  
Blinded by my tears and quaking with rage I ran, not even knowing where I was going. Flying through the halls like a mad woman. Fickle fate loves to stick his affairs into affairs such as these. He thrives on chaos. He will always find a role to play.  
  
And he found his in me. Not knowing where I was going he guided me through the castle corridors and up a long flight of spiraling stairs. Up, and up and up, until at last, through a wooden door, which I threw myself against to slam shut behind me and slid to the floor in broken sobs. It seemed as if the world had fallen down around me. I lay on the floor for a few moments and finished weeping.  
  
When I had recovered enough to stand I got to my feet and wiped my eyes. It was only then that I realized where I was. I had found solace in the very same room Godfrey had dared me to enter eight years ago. The tower.  
  
I glanced up at the domed glass ceiling. No stars were visible through the thick thunderclouds but now and then brilliant strikes of lightening would flash across the sky and light up the room with their blazing light. The rain cascaded down the glass dome as though I was standing under a waterfall.  
  
I wiped my tears and began to examine the chamber. Nothing had changed in eight years. The layers of dust were thicker but as I examined the scared windowpane in the Eastern window I could see my ten-year-old fingerprints on the window. As I marveled at this phenomenon I noticed a strange red light begin to flicker behind me.  
  
I turned around slowly, shaking. I had seen this light before. I faced the glow and realized that is was growing into high flames.  
  
I stood there, transfixed, watching the silent flames climb higher and higher. Then, they seemed to take on the form of a woman. First, the outline of a body, then slowly, individual features began to draw themselves in.  
  
She was tall. She must have stood nearly seven feet. Her black robes draped her body like they were made of lead. Bone colored wraps underneath, just visible under her sleeves gave her a mummified appearance. Her skin was paler than the moon, with a splash of ruby red lips. Her black hair was caught up in a bun underneath an iron horn-like crown. In her hand right hand rested a tall iron staff. But it wasn't her attire, or her skin, or even the fact than she was standing unharmed within red flames that caught your attention, it was her eyes. They were red, ruby red. And they glowed. They seemed to capture my own eyes, pulling me into them. They were hypnotic. Then she spoke.  
  
"Hello little princess. I see we meet again," her voice hissed at me, like the serpent in the Garden of Eden, calling to Eve. "Do you remember me?"  
  
Involuntarily, I shook my head. My thoughts were growing dimmer.  
  
"My name is Sylvanna. I am the one who created you. My, my you have grown. You have blossomed under the protection of my brother, Maximus."  
  
Shock at this revelation registered it's self somewhere in the depths of my remaining conscientiousness. I could almost feel my pupils dilate and my eyes glaze over.  
  
Sylvanna continued, "Now it is time for me to give you my gift. I have seen you crying. I know of your grief. But come to me, do as I say, and I can free you from all your worries."  
  
I lost myself in her shinning eyes. The red glow seemed to engulf me and I became lost in her eyes. I wasn't even sure her voice was coming from her mouth, it might very well have jumped directly from her head to my mind, but I did as she asked. I stepped forward. Part of me knew she was not to be trusted, but I did not care. I did not and could not listen to the voice that told me so inside my head. It could only whisper, and her voice filled my mind. I WANTED to step forward.  
  
"That's a good girl," she hissed, "now look down."  
  
At my feet I was vaguely surprised to find a shinning mahogany spinning wheel. There rose carvings upon it's spokes and it gleamed in the lightening flashes overhead.  
  
"Touch it. Touch the spindle."  
  
I moved towards it. Guided by a will other than my own.  
  
"It will take all of your worries away. Touch the spindle." I reached a hand out to touch it and then--  
  
NO! a voice cried inside my head! I hesitated and for a moment I was again slightly conscience. Then her voice slithered back into my mind and smothered my thought. Once again I was in her control. "Rose---touch the spindle."  
  
I wanted to fight it, but how can you fight yourself? As Medea said, "My irrational self is stronger than my resolution." I moved forward. My hand stretched it's self out, finger tilted forward, yearning for the cold, dark, metal. It came closer, and closer still until---  
  
Someone screamed. I think it was me. Something collided with me and knocked me to the ground before I could reach the spindle.  
  
I gasped as I rolled over to see what had happened. I was again conscious. Jason lay across me, a small pinpoint of red at the tip of his left index finger.  
  
"NO!" cried Sylvanna. The flames burst to the ceiling in her rage. Wind howled and the floor began to shake.  
  
"SYLVANNA!" I heard Maximus scream just at the glass ceiling above us shattered and shards of glass rained down upon us as Sylvanna rose into the air. I threw myself over Jason and buried my head under my arms in the turmoil. Everything was shaking, tumbling, rocking. I looked up only long enough to catch a glimpse of a metal beam before it collided with my head.  
  
Somewhere in the distance, a church bell tower chimed twelve times. 


	13. Through Fairy Halls

DISCLAIMER: Considering that this fan fic is pretty much ALL MY CREATION, and only the Princess' name and spindle thing are not mine, I think it's pretty ridiculous that I write these things.  
  
Author's Note: Ok, you guys may wish to go back and reread the prologue before you read this chapter. Everything is about to be explained. I promise, there are a few supriseses in store! To everyone who reviewed: THANK YOU! To everyone else: REVIEW!  
  
~~Chapter Thirteen~~  
  
I slowly came to conscienceness within the downy folds of a luxurious four poster bed. It was softer than anything I had felt, even within my own palace. I sleepily rose into a sitting position and with bleary eyes, took in my surroundings. I was in an airy bedchamber, built of golden beams and mirrors. The ceiling was high and sunlight spilled in from large, spacious windows, reflecting thousands of times off of the mirrored walls, as if in a palace of light.  
  
As I drew nearer to full conscienceness a piercing headache sliced through me and I fell back onto my pillows. My entire body ached. I could see scratches and bruises all over my body in the mirrors surrounding me. I closed my eyes. Questions were pestering the outermost regions of my mind. -Where was I? -Why did my head ache so?-I could remember nothing prior to my awakening.  
  
A slight creaking sound was heard and through eyes squinted with pain I saw Maximus enter the room. The moment I saw his haggard face everything came flooding back. The ball. Godfrey. Jason's gift. Dancing. The near kiss. Mother's slap and horrid revelations. Running. Crying. The tower. Sylvanna. The spinning wheel. Jason colliding with me. The blood on his finger. The glass ceiling shattering. The metal beam striking my brow.  
  
I gasped and bolted upwards, "Jason! My God, where is he?! The spinning wheel! Maximus we've got to---" Maximus rushed over to my side and gently restrained me as I attempted to rise from my bed. "We've got to help him!"  
  
"Briar Rose, be still! Rash actions will get you no where! For heaven's sake child, listen to me!" His eyes found mine and begged for my silence.  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
He sighed, "Have you ever heard of Almudena, Rose?"  
  
"Of course, legendary city of the fairies---you don't mean?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"But how did we get here?"  
  
Maximus' eyes traveled down my neck to the silver pendent. "Briar Rose, do you know what that medallion you are wearing is?"  
  
"I know it belonged to Jason's mother."  
  
Maximus sighed, "I can see this is going to take some explaining. Rose, that necklace contains silver purified by the magical waters of Almudena in which flows eternal life." He fingered the shinning stone within, "The glowing jewel is one of the living stones mined in the depths of the fairy caverns near the center of the earth. Only those who are members of the fey royal family wear that necklace." With that Maximus reached deep within his robes and removed an ornament identical to mine. As he pulled out his silver chain the stones within both pendants began to glow even brighter.  
  
I gasped, "How did YOU get---I mean---you---my God---" I trailed off as I fingered his necklace.  
  
"I am a member of the royal house of the fairies. My younger sister is Queen."  
  
"Why your younger sister?" I interrupted, "If you are older, and male, why do you not reign? Why are you residing in my home, disguised as a wizard?"  
  
Maximus' eyes grew distant. He spoke with evident effort, "I fled the fey kingdom to save it. My elder sister, who was queen at the time, had become corrupted by power. She was growing in the dark arts and though it nearly cost me my life I removed her from the throne. I knew she would be back to destroy me, as I was the largest threat of her siblings, so I hid in the kingdom of Eldron under an alias until such time as I could bring about the downfall of the Queen---Sylvanna."  
  
I drew back in amazement, "Sylvanna, is your sister?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then why does Jason have one of the sovereign stones?"  
  
"That is another part of my story. In my absence my sister, Queen Myranda sought comfort in the arms of a mortal man. The two produced a child, a boy. When I received word of this happenstance I immediately sent word for my sister to put this man and child away from herself, and to conceal the child's identity."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because Sylvanna is obsessed with power. She will never rest until she controls the entire kingdom of Eldron. If she knew of the child's existence she would have certainly tried to murder him. As long as the child remained secret Sylvanna would deter her attention away from the fairies. As long as the child remained secret we had hope."  
  
There was a pregnant pause, "The child was sent to live with his father, a mere peasant. Until, seven years later, when his father was killed in a freak mine collapse. The child was brought to the one remaining relative who could safely take him in---me."  
  
Again, Maximus took a moment to restore his energy, "My nephew was brought to the palace. I could not reveal our connection as it would compromise his identity, but I made sure he was accepted into the palace staff as a stable boy."  
  
Here Maximus chuckled slightly, "It is amazing to me that the King and Queen of Eldron have such an aversion to commoners when the future King of the Fairies was mucking stalls for their horses."  
  
Maximus looked me directly in the eyes, "Jason Kelmond, Prince of the Feys, and nephew to Sylvanna and I remained safe in secrecy within the palace walls for the next eleven years. Until last night."  
  
Stunned, I clutched the pendant, "He told me the necklace had belonged to his mother, I---I didn't realize---I didn't know---"  
  
"It's alright Rose. It is better that you didn't."  
  
Another question persisted, "But how did we get here?"  
  
"That stone possesses magical qualities. Should a person whose heart is pure touch it and wish to return to Almudena, they will be transported there accordingly. When you were knocked unconscious by that beam, I grabbed for your necklace and wished us here. I am sorry to say I was unable to reach Jason in time."  
  
"Jason! He's still there?! Is he alright?"  
  
"Calm yourself Rose!" Maximus eased me back into bed, "You've been through Hell. Try to stay still. No, no harm has come to him. He's asleep."  
  
I gave Maximus a look of utter disgust and sarcastically replied, "Of course, what any sane person would be doing right about now!"  
  
"He pricked his finger on the spindle."  
  
"Why?---It should have been me."  
  
"He was trying to save you. When he shoved you aside, he accidentally pierced his own skin."  
  
"But the curse was not intended for him."  
  
"No, which makes this situation even more terrible. Had you pricked your finger you would have fallen into an eternal sleep, awaiting true love's kiss. But the curse was not intended for Jason. He is asleep yes, but in a poisoned one."  
  
I glanced questioningly at him.  
  
"Jason is dying Rose. The life is slowly being drained out of him."  
  
For a moment I sat stunned and then sputtered, "But isn't there anything we can do?"  
  
There was silence. "There is more than just that. To save Jason you would have to kiss him. You are his true love and only YOUR kiss will work. But an even more serious problem is Sylvanna. The curse was a fluke. When Jason pricked his finger, the entire castle fell into the poisoned sleep as well."  
  
"You mean, my entire family is dying?" I asked slowly, my voice shaking.  
  
"Yes. Sylvanna will use this opportunity to seize the throne. Our only hope, is for you to destroy Sylvanna."  
  
"But how?"  
  
Maximus thought, "You must awaken Jason. Undoing her curse will destroy her. But be warned, it is not as easy as it sounds. Sylvanna will be thirsty to kill the last remaining monarch of Eldron and will fight you every step of the way."  
  
I rose from my bed and crossed the room to a chair, over which was draped a satin robe and a pair of slippers. I slid my feet into the shoes and pulled the robe around me. "I don't care. I will wake him." I shrugged, "I love him."  
  
Maximus rose and put his arms around me, "Good," he said, kissing my forehead. "I have loved you like a daughter Rose. Perhaps when all this is done, you will become a true member of my family. I've always wanted a niece." He smiled and led me from the room.  
  
"I think Rose, that it is time for you to meet my sister, the Queen of the Fairies."  
  
~~****~~  
  
She was smaller than I thought she'd be. When told I was going to be introduced to the Queen of the Fairies I expected something a little grander. Instead of the glowing beauty I had envisioned, she was a petite, gray-headed thing. She looked warm and inviting, and smelled of sweet honeysuckle.  
  
"Is this the girl Maximus?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Yes sister."  
  
She nodded, "Come here my child."  
  
I knelt before her. She took my face in her small, wrinkled hands and looked deeply into my eyes. I noticed that her hazel eyes matched Jason's. "Are you afraid child?"  
  
"A little."  
  
"As you should be. Great love does not come with out great sacrifice. You must face Sylvanna alone. It is you, and you alone, who can undo this curse, and rid the land of this witch." She paused and a great sadness seemed to come over her, "You are our last hope, Briar Rose. If you fail--- we are all doomed."  
  
She stood. I rose as well and Maximus took my hand, leading me towards the door.  
  
"Rose?" she called out again.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do me one small favor. I have always longed to hold my own son in my arms. Please bring him back to me."  
  
With that I rushed at her and threw my arms around the Queen, embracing her. "I will."  
  
I rose and she kissed my forehead, "May God be with you." 


	14. The Last and Second Time

DISCLAIMER: Hey, most of this IS mine, but you know what isn't. The quote is by Ambrose Redmoon.  
  
Author's Note: Wow, I was surprised with the responses! I didn't think that chapter was very suspenseful but apparently you guys did! Yea! Keep reviewing! Only one more chapter after this one! I'm sorry this took so long to post...my computer crashed.  
  
~~Chapter Fourteen~~  
  
There was light everywhere. My body felt lighter than air as we flew through time and space. Settling at last atop a green hillside about a mile to the West of the castle of Eldron, Maximus let go of my necklace. Slightly breathless from the journey I took a moment to catch my breath and survey our surroundings.  
  
The sky above was blue, but as I looked to the palace, I noticed that thunderclouds were gathering above the zenith of the castle towers.  
  
"Ready Maximus?"  
  
"I'm not going with you Rose."  
  
"What?!" I gasped, "Why?"  
  
"Because this is not my mission. You are the only one who can bring about the downfall of Sylvanna. You are the only one who can break the curse. I would only be a hindrance," Maximus said quietly.  
  
"But I need you!"  
  
"No, you don't. You are strong enough on your own. However, do not fear, I will not send you into battle unarmed." Maximus placed his hands on my shoulders. "I have three gifts to give you. One is strength."  
  
He withdrew and fingered my pendant. "I can give you nothing of myself. But, I can give you the gifts Jason gave you. Fight with the strength he gave you when he taught you how to defend yourself, not just against a sword, but against fear and oppression." With that, a silvery, sapphire encrusted sword materialized in my hand.  
  
"Two, knowledge. I give you your wits. Knowledge will always triumph over ignorance. This stone has more powers than you realize. If there is strength in the heart of the one who wears it, the stone will reflect that power.  
  
"And third, I give you love. It is your love for Jason that will bring you victory." Maximus kissed me on the forehead and whispered, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." And with that, he clasped his pendant, and disappeared into oblivion. I held a hand out into the shimmery mist left behind and a tear began to trickle down my cheek. I had never felt so alone. I wanted to run. Run to someone who would hold me, and comfort me, and tell me that everything would be all right. But there was no one. I was alone. With the weapon in my hand, and resolution in my heart, I set off towards the castle.  
  
~~****~~  
  
The closer I drew to the gates, the colder and wetter it got. Rain began to fall, first at a drizzle, then into a full fledged thunderstorm. It blew in sideways, drenching me. As I was still wearing the silken gown given to me by the fairy Queen, the fabric clung to me and was making it difficult to move. My hair grew stringy and stuck to my face. The steel of the sword in my hands grew icy and cold and was freezing my poor, wounded palms. This was Hell. And it had frozen over.  
  
At long last I reached the gates of the palace. I could barely see for the blinding rain, but shoved against the steel bars and hurtled inside the barrier...coming face to face with a forest of thorns. Long, sharp, thick thorns. The kind that made up the crown at the crucifixion.  
  
I heard an echoing, cackle of laughter from over head and craned my head backwards to see the origin. The dark clouds above the castle rippled with the sound.  
  
"Fate is not without a sense of irony is it?" the voice boomed. I recognized that voice. I had heard it only once before, in a trance. It was Sylvanna.  
  
"You thought you'd outsmarted me. You were saved by the stab of a needle, and by the stab of thorns you shall die." More laughter, "Oh, but not just any thorns!" With that, the bushes in front of me seemed to explode with crimson bursts. Red roses were sprouting from the branches of thorns. Briar Roses.  
  
"Fight through them if you dare, Briar Rose." She cackled again and the voice died.  
  
I turned to the thorns. If I had been afraid before, it was nothing compared to now. The bushes towered nearly ten feet, and they were as dense as a solid wall. I wanted nothing more than to turn back, but knew I had no choice. I began to hack through the thorns.  
  
It was slow work. The wind and rain still raged, causing the sword to slip from my grasp on more than one occasion. I was aware of the pain as thorns clawed at me, but it was not until I looked down at my gown and realized that it was splattered with blood that I realized the extent of my gashes. I was covered in a thin, red-tinted glaze, which I found to be blood mixed with rainwater. Each time I looked down at my wounds I winced again. Several times I wanted to just give up. But each time I recalled Jason's face. I remembered his kindness, his gentle touch, his sly sense of humor, and his love. I continued through.  
  
Twenty yards. I thought of him pelting me with straw. Thirty yards. I remembered his laughter. Forty yards. His gentle voice. At the fifty-yard mark the rain became to slippery and the sword flew out of my grasp and into the thorns beyond. I slipped on the wet ground beneath my feet and collapsed in a heap on the mud. I screamed as the dirt made contact with my open wounds and stung like the cuts of a thousand knives. I began to sob into the muck, my heart aching with despair. I would die here. Just yards from the palace doors I would freeze to death's privilege. Sylvanna had won. And my Jason, my sweet, brave, honorable Jason, who had given his life to save me...was dying. I would never see him again. Never gaze into his sparkling hazel eyes, or feel the warm security of his embrace. I had grown up with him. Shared everything with him. And I had never known that I loved him. Even when it should have been obvious I was oblivious. It was only the night that I had finally realized my love that I had lost him. Our love would kill us both.  
  
As I wept, covered with tears, blood, rain, and mud, I felt a small jab against my breastbone. It was the fairies' stone. I raised it up to my face and remembered Maximus' words. In a last, desperate attempt, I rose from the ground and held the pendent above my head, whispering, "Please help me. Someone, anyone."  
  
A warm sensation began to spread throughout my body. It started at my hands and flowed through me like a wave of water. The pendant began to vibrate and I had to clutch it with both hands to keep it from falling out of my grasp. Then, without warning, a pulse erupted from the stone causing me to stumble backwards. It was as if the thorns were repelling the warmth.  
  
I rose and pushed the stone out in front of me, leaning as if against a wall. Then, slowly, and with great difficulty as though moving against a gale of wind, I stepped forward.  
  
The thorns in front of me started to smoke. I took another step and as the nauseating smell of smoke reached my nostrils the thorns burst into flame. One dragging step at a time I forged my way through the remaining yards of thorn bushes. Burning my way through. Fighting ice with fire. The clouds above me began to tremble again in anger.  
  
As I stumbled onto the steps of the palace doors I heard the echoing, "NO!" from the expanse of space and crawling to the wooden doors flung myself inside.  
  
The darkness was consuming. Nothing was visible, as it seemed that even the torches had been extinguished by sleep. I wrenched open the doors to allow in the light from the blazing conflagration outside. I turned back around...and screamed. An elderly woman lay at my feet. She wore the uniform of a servant, and scattered about her were morsels of cheese and bits of beef that appeared to have lain on the silver tray just a few inches from her lax hands. She was asleep. I knelt down and prodded her arm. Her body rolled over, but she did not wake. It was like trying to rouse a corpse.  
  
Shaken, I rose and surveyed the entrance hall. There were one or two more bodies but not many. I speculated that the majority would be in the Great Hall. I slowly made my way in that direction, being careful not to trod on any fingers.  
  
When I entered the hall I nearly fainted. There were hundreds of bodies. A sea of corpses littered the floor. As I picked my way across I noticed Prince Godfrey slumped over a chair. Then I saw mother. She was lying across the threshold of a door near the royal platform. She must have run down to father the moment I had run off the previous night. I knelt down next to her and gently caressed her face with my hands. It struck me again how beautiful she was. Without the anxious look she usually wore, the one that seemed to suggest that someone was plotting murder, she lost nearly ten years from her appearance. It was then that I understood why mother had always been so paranoid. She loved me. She was frightened that she would lose me. What had occurred last night had been her worst nightmare since the day I was christened. I lifted her up into a sitting position and hugged her torso to my chest. Tears began to roll down my cheeks. She loves me, she loves me, she loves me! I couldn't stop saying to myself.  
  
"Mother, wake up! Please wake up mother!" I cried into her silky black hair. She did not stir. "Oh God, please!" I whispered and began to sob. I lay there for the longest time, holding my mother in my arms and crying. I had never told her. I had never told her that I loved her. I had only expressed my hatred. But now, when I finally realized the truth, it was too late. She was dying. They were all dying, and it was all my fault. This curse wasn't meant for them. It was supposed to kill me. Why did Jason have to come after me? If I had just reached out a moment sooner to touch the spindle...if only.  
  
I knew that each moment I remained here the more life slipped from their bodies. Already, mother's breathing was lighter and shallower. Wiping the tears from my bloody, bruised, cut face, I rose and laid mother back down on the floor. With one last look at her sleeping beauty I left the hall to find the tower.  
  
~~****~~  
  
No sooner had I reached the spiraling stone steps than the palace began to shake. I took a step backwards and the vibrations ceased. I stretched a hand out to the doorway, and the instant my fingers crossed the threshold the walls began to shiver. I paused for a moment, weighting my odds. This tower was old. It was falling apart. If it continued to shake in such a violent fashion it would surely collapse. I would have only a few minutes before it collapsed and killed both Jason and myself. I peered up into the black abyss. Well, I had come this far. I would have to take that chance. I jumped lightly onto the stone steps and began to race upwards.  
  
The walls shook with anger, as if trying to throw me from the stairs. The ceiling began to crumble as I climbed higher and higher. Once or twice a sizable chunk of stone grazed my brow as it fell and I praised God that I had not been half and inch farther forwards as it would have killed me. The rumblings as if from the throat of a dragon were growing louder and more violent. As I neared the zenith the steps at my feet began to crumble and fall away. I threw open the oak door to the tower room and was nearly blinded by a crimson light.  
  
Sylvanna was standing in the middle of the room, her arms and staff raised high above her head as she screamed, "YOU MAY HAVE COME THIS FAR BUT YOU WILL NEVER LIVE TO TELL THE TALE!" She thrust her staff at me and a jet of red light soared through the air at my heart. I grabbed my necklace in fright, just a split-second before the curse could make contact with my body. The light burst into a thousand flickering embers just an inch from my chest.  
  
"No!" Sylvanna shrieked! "Where did you get that?!" She rushed at me! I dodged to the left and desperately glanced around the room for Jason. He lay on the bed, sleeping. She knocked me to the ground. Shards of glass from the shattered ceiling cut my flesh.  
  
"It is too late Rose! Only a few more seconds and Jason will be dead!" She raised her staff again, but this time I grabbed the end of it and turned the staff on her. The jet of red burst forth and struck her in the chest. She shrieked and as her body fell to the ground a tremor erupted from the floor and I scrambled to my feet, dodging falling rock as I desperately made my way towards Jason.  
  
I flung myself on top of him and pressed my mouth to his. A golden light seemed to burst forth from the room. I closed my eyes tightly and desperately clung to him as the sun seemed to explode and I could not hear my own screams for the tremendous sound.  
  
At long last everything was quiet. I rose up and glanced around. The walls were intact, the floor whole, the magnificent glass ceiling towered over us again, and from it, I watched as the thunderclouds parted and sunlight poured into the room.  
  
I felt my face and my body. No longer was I laden with cuts and bruises, but was whole, clean, and dressed in a gown of the finest white silk. My hair was unsoiled and lay loosely upon my shoulders.  
  
I felt a movement beside me and glanced down to find Jason's eyes fluttering open. He was alive. Jason sat up and stared around him, taking in the golden room. At last his eyes found mine and he spoke.  
  
"Rose...what happened?" Jason asked, taking my hand.  
  
"It's a rather long story. Maximus and I will tell you later," I replied with a smile. He was alive. I gazed at him as though seeing him for the first time. Every freckle, every curve of his face revealing it's self for the first time. I marveled at him, relishing in beauty. Loving every inch of him.  
  
Jason hesitated, "Is she...is she dead?"  
  
"Yes." I took his hand, "Jason? I love you."  
  
He beautiful hazel eyes found mine as he whispered, "I love you too," and raised a hand to caress my cheek. He drew my face nearer to his...and kissed me. 


	15. To End Is To Begin, For Love Is Immortal...

DISCLAIMER: Same as always.  
  
Author's Note: Chapter Fourteen has been revised at the request of reviewers. This is the final chapter of "Spindles and Roses". I hope you have all enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing the story and am very sorry to see it end. I should be beginning a new fanfic sometime soon. I think it shall consist of a fairy tale psychiatrist. Humor no doubt. We shall see. Thank you all for your reviews and encouragement. Enjoy.  
  
~~Chapter Fifteen~~  
  
Shortly after Jason and I had embraced the castle awoke. We had journeyed downstairs to find my parents trying to restore order to the mass confusion of hundreds of drowsy people in the hall. As soon as Mother caught sight of me she ran towards me with open arms.  
  
"Briar Rose!" She crushed me against her in a desperate embrace, "Oh thank God you're safe! When you ran off last night we feared the worst! Darling what happened? You ran off, and moments later Jason burst into the room and he and Maximus ran after you. I hurried to find your father, horrified that you might be hurt..."  
  
I pulled back slightly so as to look her in the eyes.  
  
"Yes, that is an excellent question. What did happen Rose?" Father asked, joining us.  
  
I started to speak, but found it to difficult to relate precisely what had happened, and it took a moment before I began to explain. Then the whole story tumbled out. I told them how I had run off, found myself in the tower, been tempted by Sylvanna and knocked aside by Jason before the curse could take effect. I recalled how I had met the Fairy Queen, and returned to Eldron to fight Sylvanna, and rescue Jason. When I had finished I heard a voice behind me.  
  
"Well done Briar Rose." It was Maximus. He took a few slow steps forward and embraced me. I could see an old man's smile upon his face. He turned to Jason. "Thank you as well. If you had not gone to save Rose, we may not have even had the chance to destroy Sylvanna." Maximus hugged Jason as well.  
  
Mother and Father, looking abashed, bowed to Jason and began to say, "Well, now that..."  
  
"Excuse me," came a nasal voice from behind me, "Is there going to be a wedding today or what?" Godfrey whined.  
  
Brief silence, and then mother said, "Yes, of course there will be."  
  
"What?!" was the uniform cry as Jason caught me in his arms and held me close.  
  
"Marigold!"  
  
"You can't..."  
  
"Mother, what are you..."  
  
Godfrey just stood there looking smug.  
  
Mother held a hand up for silence. "I promised our people a wedding today, and by God they are going to have it!"  
  
Godfrey moved to take my arm, but Jason punched him in the eye before he could touch me.  
  
Godfrey screamed in pain and began to roll around on the floor crying, "Did you see what he did to me?"  
  
"Yes, I did," came a thunderous voice, "And if you ever touch my daughter, you will receive worse than a smack in the face," Father boomed, eyeing Godfrey.  
  
"As I was saying," Mother continued, "There will be a wedding today...we have a bride...but it will be up to Rose to decide the groom." There was silence.  
  
"You will actually let me choose?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
I took a long look at Godfrey. I remembered all the times he had tormented me, held his power over me and glared strait at him as I said, "It's not a difficult decision." I turned to Jason.  
  
His beautiful hazel eyes were shining with love. "Jason," I asked quietly, " I love you. Will you marry me?"  
  
He leaned down close to me and whispered, is breath warm on my neck, "As if you had to ask."  
  


* * *

  
We were wed the following hour. Godfrey was escorted from the castle grounds and made much mockery of, particularly when Jason and I mixed together a pan of flour and water and poured it on him as he exited out grounds under guard.  
  
Maximus had a long talk with my parents, explaining the history behind Jason and himself. My parents were a little shell-shocked to learn that the Crown Prince of the Fairy Kingdom had been sleeping within their walls, but handled the news with great jubilation.  
  
All the feys were invited to our wedding. And just before the ceremony began, Myranda appeared and embraced her son in her arms.  
  
It has been five years now. Five wonderful, glorious years. Filled with love and laughter. And I am expecting my first child any day now.  
  
THE END 


End file.
